Congratulations, graduating class of 2010!

Posted on 07. Jun, 2010 by Various in Campus, Community, Feature

Congratulations, graduating class of 2010!

The Woman Question: GC President Speaks to Student Leaders on Women’s Ordination

Posted on 21. Apr, 2010 by Peter Katz in Community

“Make sure you have sought and understood the consensus” – Jan Paulsen, 9 April 2010 to the Adventist Intercollegiate Association meeting at Canadian University College

The following is a compiled transcript of General Conference President Jan Paulsen’s answers to a Q&A with student government leaders from all the Adventist colleges and universities across North America (except Washington Adventist University).

[Initial inquiry about women’s ordination.  The questioner was under the impression that it would be an issue discussed at the upcoming GC meeting.]

At the meetings that finished this Wednesday, I made a statement to our church leaders.  Coming out of our counsel this October, there were several requests that touched on this issue: where are we going as a church regarding women in leadership issues, and by what process do we affirm women in leadership.  Questions of that kind came up then.  I met with my closest advisory leadership teams […] for three or four days planning in January, and we talked about this in the planning meeting.  We agreed that I would try to obtain the thinking, the pulse of the church globally with respect precisely to this issue.  As you know, we’ve addressed it twice before in the General Conference, and frankly, the last thing we need is to bring it before a conference when we know the answer is going to be voted down.

We have to think through where we are going with this.  We had an agreement that I would contact all of the 13 regions of the global church not to undertake a new survey, but to take a rating of the pulse of these regions in the church—how does our church, how does leadership, view this issue.  I asked two questions: tell me about the range of roles that women have today in leadership in this church; how do you affirm them in that role?  Would you welcome an opportunity to ordain women to ministry in your region?  Even if you answer number two as no, would it negatively impact you if the church in some other part of the world decided to ordain women in the ministry?  The very clear answer that came back—and they did a pretty thorough checking and testing, contrary to what is reported in a particular journal that reported that “8 men vetoed women”; it was not one person’s decision, but rather one hundred people—by far 75% or so of the global territories came back and said, “No, we are not ready to ordain women to the ministry in our part of the world; yes, we would be negatively impacted if the church were to do it anywhere in the world.”

Okay.  That’s the answer I have to live with.  And it’s not easy, but let me also say that even in those parts of the world that said not only are we not ready to do it, but that it would negatively impact the church in our division as far as the unity of the church was concerned, they also said to me, “We are not where we were ten years ago; there is movement in thinking.”  Not just we are not ready to do it, but we are not ready yet— hinting that a certain education process needs to go on.  Any change in the church is a slow process, and sometimes, it takes a new generation to make change.

[Inquiry about his personal view on women’s ordination, and how it will change.]

All of my colleagues in leadership know that I have stated that I know of no biblical reason that women should not be selected […] I think the reasons that nothing has happened are cultural based.  A greater value to me than a question on what is going to happen […] is to hold this church together, globally.  The unity of the global church is a doctrine;  many issues are not doctrines that we deal with, but this one is. So, I will give it my best shot to keep the church together.  We are not going to do this globally […] it will be in regions.  But globally, the church has to accept that it will be in regions without tearing itself apart.

[My own inquiry about the paradox of denying the validity of cultures in favor of women’s ordination in favor of cultural pluralism.]

I said this a couple minutes ago: that the question of unity is not only impacted by what you do, but it can be negatively impacted by what you don’t do. By being insensitive to the needs of the church when there is not a clear biblical mandate … all I’m saying here is that I’m trying to move something on, and I don’t know where it’s going to go or how quickly. I sense that there are shifts that are there.  I really don’t know what else to say to that.

New Convert Takes Special-K out of Loaf

Posted on 01. Apr, 2010 by Craig Hickerson in Community

After recently converting to Adventism, Sara Sanesten already has trouble with the SDA health message. Sanesten, a 47-year-old Napa Valley native, has officially refused to add cereal to the traditional potluck dish because she felt it was simply “absurd.” “The fluffy brown flakes don’t give the dish the right consistency,” says Sanesten, “The whole thing just isn’t my taste; it’s downright disgusting.”

The issue began when Elma was invited by a neighbor to the Redwood Campmeeting, where several odd culinary concoctions surfaced. “There were these things called Haystacks that were similar to Taco Salad and a whole family of fake meats, but the worst was this loaf that I politely ate only after offering it to a dog who refused the dish with good reason.” Convinced to join the church by the speaker of the event, Sanesten became a member of a local SDA church in her area where the food issue only increased.

Active in the church body, Sanesten, a skilled chef as well as a medical researcher in the Napa Valley, became increasingly aware of the differences between she and the church while in the kitchen. “Since I hated that loaf so much I figured that I couldn’t be the only one. So, I decided to make it differently with flavorful meats for the next church potluck,” said Sanesten, “By the time the potluck was over, everyone’s dishes were completely empty except for mine. The pastor had taken one piece because he felt bad, but after taking a bite he threw it away. Other than that, my dish had not been touched.” It was after the potluck that Sanesten found out that the main ingredient in the special loaf was actually Special K, the common breakfast cereal. In addition, Sanesten was informed of the practice of vegetarianism in the church. “I was astonished and became curious of their eating habits because so many of the members were overweight. It made me wonder what exactly was in those fake meats.”

Though Sanesten still is convicted of the church fundamentals, she no longer makes food for church activities. Instead, Sanesten uses her skill set to do research on meat substitutes that are popular in the church. “Strange things happen to the mice I feed Big Franks and MultiGrain Cutlets to. Some of the side effects include obesity and compulsive Sabbath keeping,” remarked Sanesten, “You should see them; every Saturday they just sit there, or sometimes go on walks.”

The Angwin Zombie Apocalypse Contingency Plan

Posted on 01. Apr, 2010 by Sacha Fisher in Community

If you are one of the dwellers of McReynolds or Nichol, you understand the feeling of walking down the winding path to campus first thing in the morning, a sense of bated breath before seeing another person. There is a rush of relief when you see that other single body walking towards you: there are in fact other humans on campus. But what if one day that other person is a little… off. They might be slightly dragging their back foot or maybe holding their arms at contorted angles. You might want to slow down your walking pace and stop exhaling a sigh of relief. Because the morning this happens, that other person is not a sign that you aren’t the only person on campus, but a signal that the zombie apocalypse has finally begun.

So what is your plan for the day that this happens? Have you given it any thought? Or were you part of the majority who turned a blind eye and said, “There’s no such thing as zombies”? Hopefully you were the intelligent one that saw the importance of having a Zombie Apocalypse Contingency Plan just on the off chance that it did one day happen and the undead rose up to consume all the living.

It is important to have both a plan and a back-up plan. In other words, you should have an exit strategy for if the uprising happens while you are at work, at home, in class, etc. You need to know if you want to take all of your needed belongings with you right away, or if you need to have a second stage where you come back for them. You need to have a final destination in mind, someplace that you can flee to and find immediate refuge from the hoards of walking dead surrounding you.

Since the majority of us would probably be at PUC when the uprising began, it is important to have a few potential safe spaces to figure into your plan.

**I will now be listing off the best and worst places to seek refuge on campus. So if you who are reading this one day turn into the undead, I would like to ask that you please do not capitalize on the information I am about to disclose. Thank you**

WORST POSSIBLE PLACES TO RUN TO FIRST:

1)    The Cafeteria: There are walls of windows and food so you would probably assume that this would be a safe bet. You would be wrong and die. There are not just two entrances, but the back kitchen as well. There are multiple sneak-attack places that a zombie could hide – behind counters, in the side rooms, and almost anywhere in that aforementioned back kitchen. Also they could come in through both of those entrances and the back and then you wouldn’t have any place to go. You would be left with no choice but to try (and fail) to fight off the zombies as they ate you.

2)    The Church: While this might be a wonderful meeting place for our campus community, it would also double as a fantastic buffet location for zombies. As someone terrified of the idea of a potential zombie apocalypse, I have seen a fair share are zombie movies. Off the top of my head I can think of two scenes (Resident Evil: Apocalypse and 28 Days Later) that show the main character walking tentatively into a church with the assumption of sanctuary, only to discover the undead had taken up residence there first. With the windows so close to ground-level, they could easily break in – please keep in mind that once zombiafied, one gains far more physical strength than just a mere living human has. Even if you ran to the balcony, there would be no way off of it if they began rushing the stairs. Again, you would fight and fail and end up being eaten.

3)    The Airport: If you have thought of it, so has everyone who actually knows how to fly a plane. Any chance that you have of even obtaining one will be slim-to-none. Then you would be left up in a creepy location, far away from the rest of the still-living students and faculty who are trying to band together for safety. You might be able to use the communication equipment to call for help, however. So, at this time, I would like to ask the reader to consider if they would like to be the person who sacrifices themselves for the rest of PUC humanity. If you are, I ask you to please, on the day that the uprising ensues, go up to the airport and call for help so that the rest of us will have a better chance at survival. (Major thanks and I promise that a statue will one day be erected in your honor.)

BEST PLACES TO CHECK OUT FIRST:

1)    Irwin Hall: It’s not the fact that it’s high off the ground, but how old it is. Because of its age, the windows are such that it would be very difficult for even one zombie to enter through one. Because zombies are sort of like drug addicts (aka don’t have a whole lot going on upstairs) they would presumably not be able to figure out how to open the front doors either. The doors are very hard to open, and while many of us have cursed that when trying to run to class on time, it will one day help to ensure some peoples’ survival. It would also be very easy to barricade the door from the outside stairwell on the top level. Victoria Mukerji’s office is the best place to take up residence in as well since it is not only quite cozy, but it has the best view out onto the rest of the campus so the living can peep-game on the doings of the dead. The two computer banks would also be helpful because it might be a means of communicating to the outside, non-hill-living people who could send assistance. Also, we could sit around watching videos on Hulu while waiting for our rescue.

2)    Andre Hall: Winning might be the main switchboard for our school, but Andre has them beat when it comes to anti-zombie safety. There are four entrances to the building: back (where video cameras are), workout room (again, video cameras and also easy to block, and there are multiple doors that can be locked before getting into the main part of Andre), back/side (which is visible all the way at the front desk as long as the swinging doors are kept open), and finally the front glass doors that are lockable. The only thing that might be a problem is the living room, so I would suggest to Andre that they cover those windows immediately with thick sheet metal and bars. Because while many might not like it now, in the event of the zombie apocalypse, no one would be complaining. The stairwells are easy to monitor. There are tons of bedrooms so people wouldn’t have to be cramped into a single room. And you can get to the roof which would be quite useful. (again, zombie movies have shown that roofs are good vantage points)

3)    The C2 Office: Zombies don’t have much in the way of brain activity going on, so I firmly believe that all of the various doors in the Campus Center would begin to confuse them (also, I have yet to see a zombie movie that shows a zombie with the mental dexterity to open closed doors by turning the doorknob). There are no windows so no zombie could get in that way. There is nothing but concrete on the other side of two of the side walls. It is right next to the Yearbook/Funnybook office so if we did hear zombies attempting to enter our safety place, we would finally trigger the remote controlled robot that we have discreetly hidden in Geoff and Stephanie’s office. The robot would then began loudly (and talentedly) playing Geoff’s drums, thus diverting the zombies’ attention to the other office. *I would like to pre-apologize to Geoff and Stephanie for sacrificing you to save ourselves. No hard feelings?* I also plan on bringing my super kitten, Lena, with me to the C2 office for hiding. As everyone knows, cats are the keepers of the Underworld in Egyptian culture. She would not only be able to alert us to possible zombie intruders, but she would also be able to ward them off using her special, anti-evil protecting cat hiss, resulting in saving us all. However, all of this being said, we have come to an agreement in the C2 office that only people who are either C2 staff members or contributors to the paper are going to be allowed to take shelter in our office. I hope that this inspires more of you to start writing article now so that you might live in the future.

These are just a few suggestions to keep in mind. The important thing is to not let people make you feel stupid for making your own Zombie Apocalypse Contingency Plan. It is those people who do not have one of the their own who will one day be bitten and then have to be shot in the head or decapitated by you – who actually had a plan. So shove that in their face and kick back and relax because you are prepared.

Expectations

Posted on 02. Mar, 2010 by Harrison Mullin in Community

Expectations. The date was going well enough. A delightful dinner accompanied by delightful conversation. What were once furtive glances from across the room had become hopeful gazes across a darkly lit corner table. Leave the restaurant to find fresh air and a relaxing stroll by the lake’s patrician edge. The conversation carries on down a more familial road. I reminisce about my own, then turn to hers. She said she regretted the infrequency which she was able to see her close family, especially her three year old son. How could I explain to a thirty-two year old divorcee I was ten years her junior?

She said she liked my blue eyes. Who was I to disagree? She carried on and on about how unusual and pleasurable it was to meet someone who possessed irises of a color that wasn’t brown. She continually remarked about how wonderful, deep, and vibrant was the color emanating from my eyes. Three minutes and I did not say a thing. I couldn’t bear to break the bad news. How could I explain that what she called “blue” was actually a grayish hazel?

Class came to a close after a successful hour of discussion. A single student stayed after. Behind the thin cultural guise of a half-cocked smile, I saw his normally bright-eyed expression was dampened. He asked me if I could talk with him. Slouched in the chair, hands loosely folded at his waist, and his eyes following the path of his dipping chin, he quietly stated his wife had miscarried two days before. He spoke for ten minutes, and I listened. He stopped and looked up to my eyes. In his I saw thanks. He smiled with painful honesty, stood, and walked to me. He had not hoped for answers to be given, he had not aimed to receive guidance. He simply wanted to transform his thoughts to words. I extended my hand and he took it. Then, he was gone.

These moments, like so many others I have experienced in my time here, were but a reminder of expectations. Repeatedly, my time here has revealed to me that expectations are very fickle things. Cultural disparities aside, there are simply some expectations to which I will never live up. I will never be the greatest English as a Second Language teacher. I will never be patient enough to learn to play the guitar well. I will never abide the presence of durian within a hundred yards of me. And my eyes will never be blue (though the abundance of street-market contacts in this place would have you believe otherwise).

This country is nothing like what I expected, yet it is everything I hoped it would be. It has occurred to me that it is not the country that has impacted me, or even the people with whom I interact on a daily basis: it has been me. Call me an empty vessel waiting to filled, a flame waiting to be ignited, or any other archaic cliché, but my time here inspires me to introspection. Though there are so many new things that surround me—so many smells, sights, sounds, and sensations to inundate my senses—they have served to push me deep within myself. The more I relinquish my expectations of others, the higher mine become of myself.

These expectations, these impossible desires of others or myself, have their place of course. But this is hardly the time for impossibilities. I am young, I am virile, I am impatient, I am unbelievably selective, I am overly romantic, I am hungry. I shall exploit this youthful repertoire as long as I possess it. Daily. This is the time for possibility. This is the time for making things personal. This is my time.

I did not leave my country to conduct cultural observations. I did not leave my country to develop a great appreciation for my homeland or to seek out new friends.  I am not lucky to have a chance to work in another country. I am not blessed to have received an opportunity to volunteer in a foreign land. I came because a friend said, “Come with me.”  Virtuous? Hardly. Philanthropic? Nope. Personalized? You decide. After all, that is the point.

These opportunities abound; just grab one and roll with it. Expect nothing. Find everything. Do it.

Plane Crashes at Angwin Airport — Sort of

Posted on 29. Oct, 2009 by Peter Katz in Campus, Community

A private plane taxiing on the runway at the Angwin Airport miscalculated the direction of the runway and collided with a chain link fence near some empty metal containers adjacent to the runway.  No one was seriously injured.

Photo by Matthew Hardesty

Gallery Hopping on Main Street

Posted on 27. Oct, 2009 by Peter Katz in Community

Perhaps art galleries are only for snobby intellectuals, but I have bad news for all of you: simply by going to college, you are taking part in a long tradition of snobby intellectuals from the classical Mid-East to Charlemagne to Oxford and Cambridge. Own it.

Frankly, as far as art galleries go, St. Helena is one of the best places to hone your snobby intellectualism, or to begin to come to terms with it. On Main Street alone, there are no less than four formal art galleries, and several more if you expand your definition of gallery—and all of them are free.

Caldwell Snyder

My personal favorite as far as my taste in genre, Caldwell Snyder is about halfway down the first section of Main Street. The gallery has a contemporary leaning, with a movement toward emerging artists that makes it the most radical gallery in St. Helena. Caldwell Snyder is more than just a gallery; it is, according to according to gallery employee and PUC alumna Katie Hopgood, a “cultural epicenter,” featuring humanitarian and intellectual exhibits as well, such as an impending lecture series. The gallery tends to have a good deal of geometric and fluid abstraction with the vivid colors and busyness typical of the late twentieth century, as well as some decent neo-impressionism and simply phenomenal surrealist paintings. Current displays include sculptures by Greg Miller, and a series of fascinating absurdist—though, according to the artist, not surrealist, because all of the instances are potentially feasible, no matter the improbability—works by Ukrainian artist Ilya Zomb. The gallery has an upper-class feel, though its amicable employees make one feel comfortable. If modern art is your thing, then Caldwell Snyder is a must-visit; the exhibits tend to rotate with some frequency, so it is worth dropping by several times over the year.

I. Wok

Another favorite, the I. Wok gallery has a more “conservative” slant to its art, according to one of the employees. Works here tend to be representative or concrete, though generally via intriguing and novel methods. There remain a few paintings from an artist who does flowers with pictures from magazines (often shocking pictures, which makes it all the more interesting), and some of the impressionist paintings I have seen previously were obscure almost to the point of abstraction, yet profoundly concrete. There is also a good bit of sculpture—currently, a series of birds and fruit that appeal even to my preference for surrealism and abstraction, while still remaining definitely concrete. The ambiance sits somewhere between a formal museum and a small-town gallery, and the combination is both friendly and formal. This gallery is a safe and worthwhile stop on your journey into art galleries.

Art on Main

If the museum style of I Wok and Caldwell Snyder intimidate you, Art on Main is a brilliant starting point. While still very much an art gallery, the architecture of the gallery is such that it feels far more private, separating you from the front desk and other art-surveyors, and not like you need to be wearing a full suit or evening gown (though we do like formal wear). The gallery is “a little bit of everything” according to manager Suzanne Perkins, with a leaning toward “area” artists, though it includes national and international art as well. Currently, Art on Main has some outstanding impressionist paintings, and a good bit of pastoral—specifically Napa Vally-esque—representative painting and sculpture. The gallery is very focused on the experience of the viewer, with design and setting intentionally created to ensure an atmosphere of comfort and accessibility.

Christopher Hill

We will be frank: we intended to go to the Christopher Hill gallery, but we were running short on time, and it happens to be closed on Tuesdays, which is both when we went down, and the day before we need our final copy. Based on what I have seen before, once you get over the feeling of trespassing through the little door and stairwell, the gallery itself is well-worth visiting. The artwork lands nicely in the center between radical and conservative, with a little on both ends, and a solid mix of genre. Construction itself encourages something between a formal museum feel and a more intimate experience. The artists featured tend to be nationally and internationally renowned, and therefore of exceptional quality. Definitely worth your time; fear not the stairs.

Other galleries

Several stores on Main Street like Findings, Martin (M.), etc. are eclectic and set up with an eye for design and display. While they may not consider themselves galleries, or others may not consider them galleries, they most certainly could be. While on your tour of St. Helena’s art, I suggest dropping by some of these stores as well.
So get on your collared shirt or nice blouse, puff yourself up with intellectual confidence, and go forth to check out the culture St. Helena offers. With so much talent and beauty at our fingertips, it would be a shame for PUC-ites to miss these opportunities.

Local Eats: Culinary Ideas in the Valley

Posted on 27. Oct, 2009 by Various in Community

Gillwood’s
Samantha Owens, Junior Communication/Journalism major.

Kind of food: American food, but they are known for their traditional breakfast food.

Favorite thing about the restaurant: Gillwood’s looks like it’s morning inside, even when it’s 1-2:00 in the afternoon, because of the colors that the walls are painted. Since there isn’t much space to wait in, there are usually people littering the sidewalk, waiting for tables. Be prepared to get close to the people sitting on either side of you at other tables, because it’s likely they won’t be more than a foot away from you. It is cozy and warm, and at least in my experience, which makes me feel better about the morning.

Favorite Dish: Huevos Rancheros. It’s breakfast with a bit of spice to keep things interesting.
Atmosphere: The atmosphere is fairly lively, can be noisy, and as mentioned before, can put you in close quarters with your neighbors. It is a good place for big groups to go to and hang out and talk together. It’s definitely not a place that you would want to get super dressed up for, but you wouldn’t want to roll out of bed and go in your sweatpants and bed head.
Price range: $8-$15 for a plate and a drink or side order.

Culinary Institute of America
Sheana Lynn- don’t know her class rank/major

The Culinary Institute of America in St.Helena was an extremely delicious and memorable dining experience. The restaurant was decorated with dark, modern table arrangements, and plastered metal pieces along the walls. Tall, wood paneling and chestnut paint it gave the restaurant a rustic look. We were seated at a table overlooking the main kitchen. As fire flared up and spices were violently put into each entrée, we were given our menus to decide our meals.
While we pondered our choices, we received two servings of freshly baked sour dough bread cut into perfectly delectable sizes for our eating desires. We ripped the pieces apart still steaming and began to enjoy them. The appetizer plate of assorted flavors and tastes started our meal off with excitement for the main course. I had chosen the Garden Mushroom Pasta with creamy Alfredo sauce, while my dining partner had chosen the petite hanger steak he’d been dreaming about for weeks.

Some variety of conversations and one Arnold Palmer later, our meals had arrived. The entree steamed with wafting flavors of new tastes and familiar enjoyment. We ate in almost cartoonish enjoyment of the impeccable tastes. My dish was absolutely wonderful. The pasta was perfectly layered in their Alfredo sauce combined with onions, garlic, fresh spinach, and assortment of melting cheeses.

This would most definitely be an impressive place to bring a date, due to the high price of food and formal setting of the restaurant. The service was excellent, with professional and friendly attitudes. Altogether, the restaurant was a very enjoyable experience, and most definitely should be a point of interest.

Taylor’s Automatic Refresher
Jackie Lott, Freshman Psychology

Driving past Taylor’s Automatic Refresher on the 29 is always fun. Around lunchtime, the line to order snakes around the picnic tables and friends & families crowd themselves underneath sun umbrellas. If you decide to stop and get yourself a cheeseburger, you’re more than likely to run into one of your Pacific Union College schoolmates.

Try a bleu cheese burger if you’re into something different. With a thick slab of meat and a layer of crumbled bleu cheese, this sandwich is everything a student at PUC who is missing his or her meat needs.

This restaurant attracts people of all kinds. You’ll see youth, old couples, and families – all types of people. The price range is reasonable for a student; they’re asking for about $7-$11 for a burger. With fries and a drink you’ll be spending around $15.
Visiting Taylor’s is a must for any PUC student. Head over there with your buddies, sit down with a burger and fries, and have a good time.

French Laundry
Elaine Jahng Super Senior, Chemistry

There are few places as celebrated as the Yountville-based institution The French Laundry, which is owned by celebrity chef Thomas Keller. Specializing in French and American cuisine, the restaurant offers not just a unique dining experience to those with an adventurous palate, but the philosophy that a meal should be comfortable yet spectacular. This is seen in the carefully crafted nine-course menus—one for meat-eaters and one for vegetarians—in which each ingredient is used only once during the entire meal. Every course is designed to wow diners with a dazzlingly ephemeral taste that leaves them wanting just another bite. While you may expect a restaurant as lauded as The French Laundry to be uncomfortable and stiff, the intimate setting and phenomenal wait-staff will put you at ease. Keep in mind that this is a 3- to 4-hour affair, so choose your company wisely. Gentlemen, jackets are required and jeans, shorts, and sneakers are not recommended. Furthermore, because space is extremely limited and demand is high, you must reserve a spot exactly two months ahead of time. Phone reservations pour in promptly at nine every morning, so you may have better luck reserving a table through the website www.opentable.com. Finally, prepare yourself for the steep price of $160, which rises to $200 after tax and tip. For more information, visit their website.

Pacificos
Chris von Kriegelstein/Sophomore English Major

The kind of food: Mexican

Favorite thing about the restaurant: The attentive waiters/waitresses and loud Friday night mariachis!

Favorite Dish: Chile Rellenos + neverending chips and salsa!

Atmosphere: Casual date place, no booths, small cafe style restaurant, two sides of the restaurant; bar side and the slightly quieter dining side. The murals on a few of the walls, tiled floor, assortment of tropical real/fake plants, and the open windows throughout the restaurant add a cheery below the border feel.
Price range: $10-$20 per person

Buster’s
Crystal Um Super Senior/Journalism

The kind of food: Southern BBQ

Favorite thing about the restaurant: It’s the ultimate carnivore feast guaranteed to satisfy your stomach and taste buds. If the meat is too much for your liking, ask for another roll, and you’ve got yourself another sandwich to go.

Favorite Dish: Tri-tip Sandwich with side of corn bread & baked beans. Don’t underestimate the medium sauce, because it’ll scorch you if you can’t take the heat. Only try spicy if you want to set your soul on fire. What I like to do is mix medium & spicy to get something in between.

Atmosphere: Pretty casual. Unless you’re opposed to outside seating and getting your hands a little dirty, it’s an ideal spot for those of you with an anorexic wallet, but a hot date. Just don’t forget the paper towels if your mess gets all over the place and not just in your face.
Price range: $8-$12

Guigni’s
Alyssa Zima Senior, Biology

The kind of food: Guigni’s serves the most amazing sandwiches that I have ever partaken in my 20 years of life, as well as various baked goods and candies that are only seen in old-time general stores.

Favorite thing about the restaurant: I love the fact that the Guigni sandwich workers remember my usual order. Also, the concept that you can buy Guigni juice by the bottle is pretty sweet, as well.

Favorite Dish: Vege sandwich, with pepper jack, cucumbers, and avocado, on sweet bread. Abundantly doused with Guigni juice, salt, and pepper.

Atmosphere: This is probably one of the more casual places to hang-out in the area. Even for those choosing to eat-in, the sandwiches are served on disposable paper plates. It is perfect for a casual date, or jolly lunch.
Price range: $5-$8

CC Blue
Scott Brizendine Senior, Teaching

CC Blue is the greatest, aka closest, Sushi Bar in the Napa Valley! For us seafood lovers we can get a great range from yellowtail too eel, and for the rest of the non meat-eaters, there is actually delightful array of vegetable maki with a wide range of choices from Avocado rolls to Tempura sweet potatoes. Each of the meals comes with a great blend of tea, and a wonderful little cabbage salad. Prices range from $5-$15, depending on what you get. This place is a great choice for a switch up from the normal choice eateries around PUC.

Soo Yuan
Raphael “Sho” Jimenez Junior, Television with Pre-medtech

The kind of food: Chinese. EVERYONE’S favorite.

Favorite thing about the restaurant: The overall “homeliness” and “hole in the wall” local feeling – that and PUC students get 10% off. Why? Don’t question… just thank. You can’t get that anywhere else. Seriously.

Favorite Dish: People expect me to say “Orange Chicken” but I say “Pssshaw” to that. “Garlic Fish” is where it’s at. A perfect blend of sweet and savory sauce over battered fish fried to perfection. Panda Express has nothing on this.

Atmosphere: The place has the potential to be a date spot, yet the atmosphere seems to promote a very casual vibe. Take her (and for you daring ladies out there, him) for lunch. I suggest on the weekend so you have time for “other” activities (Oh yeah, it would be PERFECT for group outings if it weren’t a bit cramped).

Price range: $6-$10 per dish. Family-style would probably put you $10-$20 per person for more than one dish depending on the dish, but if you really care for the person, you would not mind.

Library in the Valley

Posted on 27. Oct, 2009 by Paige Worstell in Community

Looking for a new book to curl up with? Driving home for hours at a time and wan to listen to something other than your own thoughts? Feel like watching a movie but don’t have any cash to spend? I know just the place to go that can solve all these problems–the St. Helena Public Library. Its location is easy to find and will hardly deplete your gas supply. It’s conveniently located at 1492 Library Lane in St. Helena just adjacent from Safeway. I love the fact that its convenience allows me to stop off at the library and grab a DVD and then head over to Safeway to snatch some goodies to watch along with my movie. Another great thing about their DVDs is that you get to keep them for up to three weeks, which sure beats the three or four days you can keep regular rentals.

The St. Helena Library also has a fairly good selection of books—96,000, to be specific. I love reading mystery novels, and they have a great section for that. Also, I really enjoy listening to books on CD, and they have a variety of those is stock, as well. I’ve found that you can even get some of the books you read for school in audio book form. It’s great to be able to give your eyes a break and just listen to your homework.

Aside from books, audio books, and DVDs, the St. Helena Library hosts a number of events each month. There are movie nights, puppet shows, writing workshops, Cranium game parties, poetry readings, computer training, and opportunities to meet with authors and discuss their works. I’ve even signed up for the library notification service that sends me e-mail reminders of upcoming events. So I suggest you wander on over to St. Helena Public Library sometime when you’re in St. Helena grabbing some food or doing some shopping, sign up for your free membership, and start enjoying what they have to offer!

A Local Boutique with a Global Mission

Posted on 27. Oct, 2009 by Peter Katz in Community

Humanitarianism does not have to take place in the context of Amnesty International or Revo—it can be a part of daily consuming.

Baksheesh, on Main Street in St. Helena, is a Fair Trade store with an emphasis on humanity over consumption. Managed by Katie Schnable, a sociology graduate from Washington D.C., Baksheesh is dedicated to creating sustainability by purchasing from artisans across the globe via fair trade.

“Fair trade” is a mode of business in which artisans are paid a “livable wage in their community,” according to Schnable, an amount which may vary from country to country, but ensures education, health care, sustenance, and shelter for the workers. The store seeks to “partner with artisans on long term” said Schnable, in order to ensure consistency in funding for the workers. Within the Fair Trade Federation – a collective of vendors dedicated to fair trade – Baksheesh contacts fellow vendors, who then contract with the artisans in order to ensure sustainability on a global, marketable scale.

Schnable founded the store because, to her, fair trade “just makes sense.” It is her goal to raise social awareness about the way consumers take consumption for granted, and to reveal the facets of social justice embedded in spending and shopping. For example, when one purchases something from Baksheesh, one is given the choice between a bag and a piece of chocolate. “Eventually we want people to take neither, but right now, the reward system works,” Schnable explains, but the point is to get people to think about things like from where their grocery and shopping bags come, and the global effects of such mass consumerism.

A good part of Baksheesh and Schnable’s mission is to provide access to information that bestows a “different way to see the world,” from maps that call into question the Euro-centric tradition by demonstrating that such a view of geography is not a given, or a particularly fascinating map that proportions country size by population. In addition, one can purchase the “Better World Hand-guide” similar to the text sold by David Bastone from the Not-For-Sale campaign that made waves at PUC through Revo two years previous. The handbook lists major corporations and companies in various modes of production, rating them on a scale of fair trade, slave labor, and other humanitarianly-minded aspects.

On top of all of the good intentions, Baksheesh has an eclectic and fantastic array of clothing, decorations, and artwork, from scarves to items one may never have before seen, but will make one wish that one had. Items come from Nepal, Peru, Guatemala, Ecuador, Bolivia, India, Indonesia, South Africa, and Kenya, to name a few of the widespread locales. Pricing is quite affordable, and it always makes me feel better to know that, to quote Schnable, my money “is going to a family in Nepal for food, rather than a guy in Southern California for a Mercedes.”

As Christians, as intellectuals, as students of humanity at a liberal arts college, it is our duty to be conscious that, as Schnable puts it, “Where you spend your money is where you cast your vote.” Not only is this in part true in the bipartisan political sense, but more importantly, money spent for fair trade is a vote for humanity over consumption, for people over corporations, for sustainability over social stratification. So cast your vote for humanity through Baksheesh, and make some “good” purchases in every sense of the word.