In Order to Form a More Perfect PUC: A Few Suggestions

Posted on 18. Nov, 2009 by Staff in Editorial

As we have several times mentioned in previous issues, PUC’s Student Senate is in the process of a reworking the constitution regarding the SA, clubs, and other aspects of student life.  We at the C2 have decided to take a leaf from the books of many major newspapers past and present, and therefore have chosen to print our own considerations on the topic, in order to both create and facilitate discussion, and raise student awareness of the inner-workings of your government in general.  The primary two issues on which we would like to stake some sort of stance are on the formation of clubs, and the still theoretical idea of a Publications VP.

In order to fully support our opinion on club formation, we would like to examine the fundamental, institutional motivation in club formation.  A group of people can meet consistently to do whatever they so choose without officially being a PUC club (and we know of at least a few that do so).  What, therefore, is the institutional benefit of being a club?

To become official, a group must fill out the paperwork with Student Services and be deemed an appropriate reflection of the PUC institution as a whole.  Once this process is completed, and the club is “official,” and therefore … gets a booth at Fall and Spring fests.  Ah, yes, and has a better chance of getting the Student Services stamp on its posters, “use of college facilities for programs and meetings at no charge,” “utilization of college business support services,” and a “student nominated and college administration approved adviser” (Organize a New Club, puc.edu).  In short, becoming a club means that said club will be allowed without much hindrance to try to fund itself.

On the other hand, a group of students with common interests will be able to communicate through myriad other forms than posters and the ever-present Announce emails, and barring scheduling conflicts, an unofficial club can basically use whatever campus facilities are open.  We are not trying to incite a rash of civil disobedience or unofficial clubs; what we are arguing, however, is that Senate owes it to the student body to facilitate student life.  Therefore, let it be proposed that Senate set aside an amount of funding for clubs, and the process of club application and acceptance be relegated to the Senate.  Moneys could come from a system with universal funding for each club, and further funding by application.  Even if twenty clubs formed and each received $200, or even $100, Senate would still have plenty of funds available, and those clubs would have money to at least get started; for a small club, $200 could be all they might need for the year, or enough to help them grow into a large club.  Ultimately, we propose this because at the present, previously standing clubs exist, but there is little motivation to form a new club.  Senate’s money is our money; if it can fund and foster student growth, then it should.  This legislation would move PUC clubs from the margins and into the forefront of social life.  The details, of course, would need to be hammered out by the constitutional committee, but the idea remains.

Our second proposal is the creation of a Publication VP in the SA, and a rather radical restructuring of the publication branch of the SA as it currently exists.  Offices like Funnybook, Yearbook, and our own have little time (or relevancy) to be public SA officers, and more importantly, should not be filled democratically.  The general student body may have no clue regarding the degree of competency of a C2 Editor candidate; our own editor won last year’s election (against himself) with a mostly nonsensical poem posing as a speech—and the extent of his journalism experience is that he took Newswriting last quarter.  It would be far more preferable for these positions (Funnybook, Yearbook, etc.) to be filled by application.  Potential editors would be interviewed by a committee of Communication, Graphic Design, English, etc. professors, rather than chosen by a potentially unknowing student body.  The editor of the NY Times was not elected by New York City.

Instead, we propose the creation of a Publications VP.  This person would run on a platform, say, more funding for the C2 and Quicksilver, less for PUC Cast, and joining Video Yearbook and Yearbook into one publication (as a completely arbitrary example).  The student body would therefore actually be voting on something substantive, rather than that the C2 candidate has gorgeous hair and writes pretty.  This VP, in conjunction with the President, Financial VP, and hired editors, would determine funding for publications for the next year.

Again, these are simply ideas.  Remember, because we feel compelled to mimic our State and Federal governments, the SA is apparently a Republic: the senators represent you and your opinions.  If you like ours, tell your senator.  If you hate ours, tell your senator.  Else this will be a constitution by the Senate, with little input from a potentially apathetic people.

Ecovillage Project Alive but Dormant

Posted on 18. Nov, 2009 by Jonathan Pichot in Campus

For several decades, PUC has been searching for a way to monetize its 1900 acres of prime Napa Valley real estate.  Unlike many other small schools, PUC does not have a very large endowment.  This makes it particularly financially dependent on enrollment. By finding a way to monetize the college’s largest asset, the administration is hoping to alleviate the constant dependence on tuition dollars.  Over the years, there have been many proposed developments, including a golf course and a five-star resort.  The most routine and lucrative development in the Napa Valley, wine-grape production, is not being considered because of Seventh-day Adventist health beliefs.  In 2006, the PUC Board of Trustees voted to examine the potential of developing the unincorporated village of Angwin.  They approached a development company out of Seattle–Triad Development (triaddev.com)–known for building environmentally friendly, mixed-use communities.  Triad, in consultation with PUC, developed a plan to build what they called an ‘eco-village’ in Angwin.  The proposal included the construction of a new Angwin town square including more retail space and a small hotel and over 580 homes throughout PUC land.

In late 2006 and early 2007, Triad and PUC hosted a series of “town-hall” meetings at which they presented the development plans.  After the plan was revealed, some members of the community formed an opposition group named Save Rural Angwin (saveruralangwin.org).  They opposed any development of Angwin beyond the construction of new facilities for the college.  Their primary criticisms centered on the impact the development would have on the rural nature of Angwin.  They were concerned that Angwin’s infrastructure could not support the number of houses and cars that would be required.

The stand off between Save Rural Angwin (SRA) and PUC/Triad came to a head winter 2008 at a Napa County Board of Supervisor (NCBOS) meeting.  Every five years, the NCBOS reviews the county general plan and accepts new proposals.  At this meeting, SRA proposed a rezoning of Angwin from Planned Development to Institutional zoning.  Angwin has been zoned Planned Development for decades, meaning that PUC could develop within this zoning, dubbed the Angwin Urban Bubble.  The SRA proposal invented a new zoning type, Institutional, that would only allow PUC to build institutional buildings such as dorms and classrooms.  The NCBOS voted against this proposal, explaining that it was out of the purview of the committee, thus allowing PUC and Triad to move forward with presenting an official development plan to the county, which includes an Environmental Impact Report (EIR).

In July 2009, Triad and PUC nullified their contract.  Triad is no longer responsible for spearheading the development efforts, but will remain as a consultant.  PUC will now be taking the lead in negotiating with the county.  In a letter to the county, the PUC Board affirmed that it is still in support of pursuing the eco-village.  The next step in the process is a formal development proposal.  Reports indicate that it will be done, with the anticipated EIR, sometime in 2010.  SRA has indicated that it is still prepared to lobby against the project.

Internet Invasion: Online Privacy

Posted on 18. Nov, 2009 by Jen Cotto in Feature

Imagine this scenario. You just graduated from PUC with your bachelor’s degree. After a very educational internship at a major corporation, you are ready to enter the work force and take on the world. You find a great company who has agreed to interview you for a position you have always wanted. You’ve sent your resume, a remarkable portfolio, and you have even provided them with first class professional references. There you are, they day of the interview, in your favorite suit and ready to impress your potential employer. When you sit down for the interview, you are shocked to hear the GM of the company quote your Facebook status and ask you to elaborate. Think this is a little farfetched? Think again! Believe it or not, this is actually happening more than you think. More and more in this increasingly competitive economy, employers and even colleges and universities are checking out every detail of your life.

It is nothing new that potential employers and educational institutions at every level check and double check your references, GPA, and credit scores among other information; but as the unemployment rate reaches an inconceivable 10 percent in the nation, employers now have the luxury to be picky. And it’s not just employers; colleges and universities are also tapping in to social networking sites to determine a student’s admission to both under graduate and graduate programs. Everyone wants to know every detail of your life, not just professionally and academically, but also personally—and there is no better place to find it than the World Wide Web.

How they do it

Unless you have been living under a rock for the past decade, you most likely have a myspace, facebook, or other social networking site. If you do, you probably haven’t given much thought to the fact that all kinds of people have access to personal information on your site. People that you don’t know can have access to every detail of your personal information. Have you stopped to think lately if you would want your boss or teachers looking at what you have on your facebook? According to Marcia Muller, Human Resource and Operation Manager of Spanish Broadcasting System, a national radio and television company, if you don’t feel easy with the idea of your boss or teachers looking at what you have up there, then you should probably take it down. “Companies are now using social networking sites to see the personal lives of potential employees and interns. Most corporations are increasingly interested not only in professional credentials, but in the characters of those we are looking to hire. We want to make sure that even when off the job, our employees will represent the image of our stations in a professional way.” Muller explains that even when a person intentionally makes a social networking profile public for all to see, for example on-air talent like Disk Jockeys or Television personalities, companies will seek out your personal profiles and study every detail of what you have posted for everyone to see.

But, what if your profile is private? “There are always ways to get around a private profile” Sais Muller. “Everyone is connected with someone you know, one way or another, so even if your profile is private, someone you know may have photos of videos of you, and there is a loop-hole where someone can access that information” Muller says. If it is on the web, eventually it will make its way to anyone who wants to access it.

Feel invaded?

That’s because you are. Although every social networking site has privacy policies and you are, to a certain extent, protected by the law, what you put on the internet is there for potentially everyone to see. So, when you post or upload information on line, think about what you are posting. Just like any other information, if you wouldn’t want certain people to access it, it’s best to be left off the web. Here at PUC there are also ways in which you can protect yourself. According to Juan Balderas if ITSS, the only way anyone in school can access information or files on your computer is if you have file sharing enabled. So, if you don’t have personal files on your “share” folder, your information is safe. Juan says ITSS does not have access to the files on your computer, and even if someone did try to access your PC, it would require your approval.

When it comes to your privacy and protecting your image, it’s better to be safe than sorry. Take a moment to think about what you have on the web, and what files you are sharing with everyone at school. If you wouldn’t feel comfortable with your PUC advisor, or your boss looking at those videos or pictures, its best you take it down. You are the only one who can take control of the information that is shared, and I recommend you do.

President Knight and a Vision for the New PUC

Posted on 18. Nov, 2009 by Staff in Campus

C2: Which factors brought you to apply for PUC in the first place, or were you asked to come?  Even if you were asked, which aspects of PUC most attracted you?

HK: I did not initially apply for the Presidency of Pacific Union College, since I was enjoying a very successful career serving for 3 years as Provost of Andrews University. There was still much work to accomplish at Andrews, as I was in the midst of operationalizing a 5-year Strategic Plan, but after I received several nominations for this position, I decided to submit my application materials and see what the Lord might have in store.  I was, of course, very much attracted to PUC’s reputation for academic excellence, as well as to its committed and gifted faculty, staff and students. It was also an opportunity to return home to California where I had spent the majority of my academic career and where I could galvanize a variety of educational resources on behalf of PUC.

As I become better-acquainted with the campus community, I have become even more impressed with the academic acumen and spiritual commitments of the campus. The preparation for our recent WASC Accreditation site visit, for example, was flawless, and I am delighted to learn of the number of PUC students who are very well-prepared and positioned to gain acceptance to medical, dental, and other professional schools, as well as prestigious graduate programs and jobs with innovative companies like Google, for example.

C2: What special skills do you bring to PUC?

HK: I bring to PUC a very rich background in higher education, both in Seventh-day Adventist and non-Adventist settings. This type of cross-fertilization has allowed me to focus on what constitutes “best practice,” both inside and outside of our system, and to do my best to implement strategies that work to improve educational effectiveness across the board. I have also been fortunate to serve at institutions that have undergone institutional transformation, so I know that institutions can experience turnarounds; I also know the strategies and types of planning that must occur to help institutions move forward in the right direction for success. At Andrews, for example, I managed the day-to-day operations of the entire campus, and also served as chief academic officer, which enabled me to help move the university to the next level of excellence. I am also a “tough-minded optimist,” and I believe that for successful leadership, optimism and moderation are best.

C2:  How have you put these skills to use so far?  How do you plan to put them to use?

HK: During my first 7 weeks here at PUC, I have focused on articulating a compelling intellectual and spiritual vision for the campus, which is one of the key roles for any CEO. I have also begun the planning process by working with the Vice Presidents to craft goals for the year which are highly integrated and aligned, thus creating an even greater opportunity for synergy and momentum. I have been able to plan a Board of Trustees Retreat focused on Board training, as well as to visit with departments here on campus and with PUC alumni to gain an understanding of their needs and desires and to hear how a new President can be most helpful to them. I have also been out in the Napa Valley community meeting with community leaders and seeking opportunities to develop strategic partnerships which can create win-win scenarios for our campus.  As a public intellectual, I care deeply about how PUC can add intellectual, cultural and spiritual capital to our region.

4) There is particular concern (and emphasis in this issue of the C2) on PUC’s financial state.  As much as is part of your position, what is your perception of PUC’s financial stability or instability, and what are your plans to deal with funding issues for the school in general?

HK: PUC does have serious financial issues that must be addressed, and the recent WASC team certainly pointed those out as institutional challenges.  First of all, we must continue to grow our enrollment in order to grow our major revenue stream—tuition dollars. This fall, we experienced an 11.1% increase in enrollment due to the excellent work of Vice President Julie Lee and her enrollment team.  I hosted a special luncheon at my home today to thank then for their hard work.  At the same time, however, we also strategized together on how to keep this positive trajectory moving in the right direction for the next several years. Concurrent with growing the enrollment, we must also develop multiple revenue steams.  We are making plans in that direction.

C2: We understand that you have special expertise in diversity.  How does that relate to PUC?  How do you intend to (or how have you been) implement those skills here?

HK: At the University of the Pacific in Stockton, California, where I spent 18 years before going to Andrews University, I had the pleasure of serving as Assistant, then Associate Provost for Faculty Development, Diversity, and Special Programs. Having the responsibility for enhancing the university’s diversity infrastructure provided me with many valuable learning opportunities.  To illustrate, I was the first faculty member to develop courses in African-American and Multicultural Literatures at Pacific. I also worked to improve faculty, staff and student representation and to improve campus climate and multicultural programming.  I further secured a diversity grant from the James Irvine Foundation for $900,000, which gave us much needed resources to offer scholarships and fund a number of other important diversity initiatives.

My approach to diversity has been to emphasize the educational benefits of diversity.  At Andrews University and here at PUC, I have expanded that approach to include the spiritual and social benefits as well.  In the end, I would like to explore and to model how as a community of faith, we can embody the concept of the “Beloved Community” here on our wonderfully diverse campus. I would like to promote a concept which higher education thought-leaders are now calling “inclusive excellence.”  That is, the realization that you cannot have excellence without diversity, and diversity must add to a sense of community rather than creating artificial barriers between different groups.  It is both/and rather than either/or. As the first female, as well as the first African-American President of PUC, I am certainly committed to promoting intercultural competence.

HK: Some students have expressed views that the “Adventist Advantage” has potential to infringe on academic or artistic freedom, since sometimes can be perceived as aberrant.  Do you care to comment on this?

HK: Again, as someone who has spent the majority of my academic career outside of Adventist higher education, I am particularly sensitive to issues of academic and artistic freedom.  In fact, you may recall that I attended the High School of Music and Art and Performing Arts in New York City, the high school that the movie Fame is based on, so I have a deep appreciation for the Arts and literature (my Ph.D. is in English from Stanford University).  However, all of us, faculty, staff, and students, who choose to join this distinctive Seventh-day Adventist learning community, including myself, choose to and commit to honoring and enacting our shared community values and beliefs as a church sponsored institution with the Christian vision as our organizing paradigm. Thus, we respond to a higher freedom—the freedom that we share as disciples of Christ who have committed ourselves to following in His footsteps. Philosophically and spiritually, I crafted the “Adventist Advantage” to “repackage,” if you will, our core values and commitments for a twenty-first century audience and to attempt to articulate with some clarity, the relevance of Adventism in the contemporary world. I don’t see that motive as infringing on academic or artistic freedom in our profoundly Christian context.

C2: Do you have anything in particular you would like to share about the recent WASC visit, either regarding policy, intended goals, or accreditation in general?

HK: I was very pleased with the recent WASC Accreditation site visit. PUC received 11 areas of commendation, and the team members really admired our commitment to do much with little and the tremendous commitment of our faculty and staff.  As noted earlier, they highlighted the fact that we must address serious financial and planning issues, and we are now in “turnaround mode” heading toward recovery—although there is much hard work ahead.  This work, however, is achievable, and my goal is to propel PUC from a culture of scarcity into a culture of abundance—God’s abundance.

In conclusion, I considerate it a special privilege to be here at PUC at this particular historical moment. This is truly a breakthrough moment for the campus in many ways, and I believe that all of the past opportunities and experiences that God has given me have culminated in this grand opportunity to help move PUC from “good to great.”  This is not mere rhetoric with me.  I believe that we as a campus community—faculty, staff, and students—should settle for nothing less than being known as the most outstanding Christian College in the West!

Of Superballs and Steak

Posted on 27. Oct, 2009 by Jordan Thornburgh in Community

College students have been known to resort to hunter-gatherer methods to obtain what they need to survive if they feel that their needs aren’t being met. And if your needs extend beyond burritos and pizza, chances are that the average PUC student will find him or herself stalking the aisles of a grocery store.

There are two real options for stocking your fridge if you attend PUC. There’s the college market, and Safeway. Depending on what you need, the right decision can be the difference between a panini and a pop tart. And so I’ve been asked to play Consumer Reports to tell you what you can expect from both.

In our very own front yard, we have the college market. If veggie meat is what gets you out of bed in the mornings, look no further. The freezers are nigh stuffed with the little devils, ranging from the rubbery to the crunchy. And while Safeway carries a few types of garden and veggie burgers, the local market definitely has a wider variety.

The college market also has the advantage of being connected to an Ace Hardware Store and the bookstore. And while this is a little like bribing your grandchildren to come visit by offering them cookies, it is a handy fact if you want to run multiple errands in the least amount of miles. Since the market is within walking distance, it means you don’t have to wait for your friends to go to St. Helena if you don’t have a car or are too lazy to drive yourself. Overall, the local store boasts convenience over its competition.

Safeway is the other option, since WalMart isn’t sophisticated enough to operate in wine country. In Safeway, you will find a wider variety of the same things offered at the college market –veggie products excluded. The biggest difference is most likely the entire quarter of the store dedicated to the booze. But since we’re all angels, this is a moot point.

Also, if you don’t like chewing on something with the consistency of a superball, you can find real meat at Safeway. If it was alive at some point, and humans can eat it, it will most likely be there. This is the deal maker for me. A side note is that there is a wider variety of DVD’s at Safeway, but I’ve never been that hungry myself. Overall, the mainstream contender offers more. Period. And if you get a membership, you can get more for less, just like all the bad slogans tell you.

Both of these establishments will offer what you need (probably). And you will wind up at one or the other at some point in time here at PUC (if you’re normal). But I guess the bottom line is that the college market is like a Motel 6. Convenient in many ways, and it will get the job done. But the Safeway is like a Marriot. It’s a bit more trouble to get to one, but it offers everything the Motel 6 does plus a mint on your pillow.

Forum Raises “Viral Voice” Against Human Trafficking

Posted on 27. Oct, 2009 by Crystal Um in Feature

Carlsbad, San Diego—On October 8-9, 2009, the leading activists of human trafficking gathered for the first annual Global Forum, designed to strategize a slave-free future by mobilizing teachers, students, and businesses to end modern slavery. Forum participants discussed domestic as well as international issues, and engaged in three breakout sessions of their choice to implement entrepreneurial strategies as well as global policies for treatment of the issue. Forum representatives included Bay Area Co-Director of MISSSEY, to Not For Sale’s Peru project founder, Lucy Borja, and the Not For Sale Campaign California State Director, Stephanie Voorkamp with entrepreneur David Arkless.

Nola Brantley, Co-Director of MISSSEY, Motivating, Inspiring, and Supporting and Serving Sexually Exploited Youth, served as a panelist for the breakout session titled “Innovative Models of Survivor Care,” Brantley was the first intensive case management treatment service model and programs for commercially sexually exploited children to receive specialized advocacy and assessment in Alameda County Juvenile Justice Center, the development and implementation of a transition and recovery center for commercially sexually exploited children in Oakland.

Brantley indicated how 90 percent of the victims are American children in the foster care system. These children were removed from biological care on the premise of protection, only to be used as consumer exploitation for street and Internet prostitution purposes. Brantley discussed the 2002-2003 cases where groups of 3-5 children under 18 were arrested upon the charges of prostitution to demonstrate how there were no concrete systems in place for domestic cases of sexual exploitation. Brantley served as an advocate for these children who were prosecuted under the 647B Prostitution charges because of the discrepancies between the law and how the children were processed legally in Alameda House Justice Centers. “Domestic cases do not have the same protection resources as international cases,” Brantley said. “Our kids are falling through the cracks.”

The reoccurring cases of trafficked minors were also validated by Lucy Borja, who created Generacion, a Not for Sale International project providing prevention and aftercare programs to street children in order to develop entrepreneurial economic life skills in Lima, Peru. “Children do not share in the same freedom as adults, and are not even regarded as citizens,” Borja said. According to Borja, Children are arrested and sent to juvenile hall on the basis of polluting the public environment—an outcry made by local residents who shun the children as decreasing their property value. There are many instances of children being shot and abused by criminal enforcement and exploiters. The traffickers target children who have no one to turn to, forcing them to be dependent suppliers of their demands.

Borja has worked with the government to create homes and opportunities for the children who have been marginalized by the system. They were able to start a landscaping business with the government to provide for basic needs for the women and children, as well as a means of preventing re-victimization by their exploiters. In addition to recreational life skills, empowerment is also employed as a method for prevention. Borja believes in the power of theatre, music, and surfing to promote social change in an environment where children can tell their own stories to educate others in the safety of school settings.

The marginalized victims living in impoverished homes are a distinguished trend of human trafficking cases in Lima, Peru, and around the globe. Entrepreneur, David Ormesher, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Closerlook, Inc., and Adjunct Professor of Customer Management at the IIT Stuart Graduate School of Business, Chicago, IL, proposed entrepreneurial solutions to crisis to promote change, as evidenced with Borja’s landscaping business in Peru. He emphasized how human trafficking could not be undermined unless strategic objectives were employed along with mutual partnership of developing countries to combat poverty. The demand for social enterprise businesses have been growing with grants up to $20,000 for ideas to advance sustainable practices and public engagement. Currently, Rwanda has been receptive to social enterprise policies, and has streamlined investment options so that an outside investor is entitled to 50 percent of the invested amount or used assets. Freeplay Energy, one example of a successful social enterprise in Rwanda, replaced dangerous kerosene lights with sustainable, cost-efficient sunlight and “wind-up” technology lanterns. Unlike conventional business models, the challenge of social enterprises like Freeplay Energy was to create a capital based on the average earnings of the demographic. The dollar-a-day approach was used to make Freeplay Energy as affordable as kerosene, yet renewable for a lifetime.

Sustainability and entrepreneurship may be the solution according to Stephanie Voorkamp, Director of Business Development for the Not for Sale Campaign. Voorkamp, who recently took over the Not For Sale Freedom store a couple months ago, endeavors to reform the consumer culture that contributes to the flourishing business of trafficking. The antithesis of slave-driven business models, Voorkamp’s Freedom Store is comprised of low-income artisans and rescued victims who supply the basic needs of the consumer, and provide a way of escape to those held bondage by the leading cause of human trafficking—poverty. Like Freeplay Energy’s social enterprise, Voorkamp’s global market models promote sustainability as it is utilized as a resource for further education and financial independence.

Entrepreneurship strategies to combat the multimillion-dollar business of human trafficking was also the forefront of abolitionist David Arkless, President of Corporate and Governmental Affairs, Manpower, Inc. “Gangs set up trafficking rings as a business,” Arkless explained. “The only way to stop them is to cut off supply and demand situations.” Arkless’s current objective is to change human resource policies, and to create a code of conduct for employees of worldwide suppliers, as stated in his Athens’s Declaration. The Athens’s Declaration forbids employees from hiring prostitutes on business trips, and requires the company to check supply chains. Arkless’s vision for global strength relies on research, data, surveillance, verification, communication but most importantly, individuals to raise their “viral voices” in bringing redemption and freedom to the slaves.

Resources:
European Journal on Human Trafficking
Not For Sale Campaign Investigator Academy
How to Identify Trafficking

Students Raise Funds for Samoan Disaster Relief

Posted on 27. Oct, 2009 by Christine Phan in Campus

On Tuesday, 29 September 2009, an 8.3-magnitude earthquake struck between the islands of Samoa and American Samoa, sending a tsunami that killed nearly 200 people and destroyed all villages in its path. Islands also affected by this disaster were the Philippines and Indonesia. Many organizations across the country and around the world have set up aid and relief for the victims of the tsunami. Here on the PUC campus, we also have our own in the works.

Duke Sagapolutele (’11), religious vice president of the Mabuhay Filipino Club, has started collecting donations for the disaster victims. Sagapolutele came up with the idea in late September after the disaster occurred, and began collecting money and donations during the first week of October. During colloquy on 8 October, he made a special request from the staff and students in sanctuary to donate; an unexpected value of $544 was collected. Can we say “Amen”?

“I would like to thank everybody who was able to donate that day; it was completely out of the blue, and I am very thankful,” Duke expressed.

During the interview, I asked Duke why he wanted to collect donations and how he came upon the idea. He responded, “It felt right,” since home was in Samoa, and family members were living right where the tsunami struck. Duke personally experienced the disaster himself, for he lost an aunt, and his family’s village and property. In Samoa, homes are made out of property such as trees and natural sources; therefore, it is going to be tough and heartbreaking to rebuild the damaged homes. Duke’s family begun sending money, and is planning to make a visit to relatives and friends in Samoa who are in the progress of rebuilding their homes and lives after the disastrous event.

In continuation of fundraising, Sagapolutele and the officers of Mabuhay are in the progress of putting on a floor show for the Fall Fest on 1 November. The floor show is made of PUC students participating in several Polynesian and Filipino dances. In addition to the show, the club will have a booth selling food and tickets for the show. Not only can you purchase the items sold in order to contribute, but also bring items to donate, such as clothes, toiletries, and other useful materials. All money and items collected proceed toward the fundraising, where Sagapolutele will be officially sending to DREF (Disaster Relief Emergency Fund). There is no certain deadline, so any donations will be incredibly appreciated and helpful at any time.
Come out to Fall Fest on Sunday, 1 November, support all the clubs, and help the Filipino club collect donations and other contributions for the tsunami victims in the Pacific islands. Please pray for Duke’s work and the victims in the Philippines, Indonesia, and Samoa, because they need the assistance and support from our PUC family. Never doubt the power of prayer.

OMG!: Profanity in a Profane World

Posted on 27. Oct, 2009 by Alexander Carpenter in Editorial

Recently our Student Services and Dramatic Arts Society co-presented a free showing of Lyrics from Lockdown, a spoken word performance by Bryonn Bain. Mei Ann Teo, the director of the show, prefaced the show with a disclaimer: “This is a true story of wrongful imprisonment. There are times when profanity is appropriate to describe profane conditions.” And the saga that Bryonn shared that Sunday, of systemic racism, negotiating the various responses to it in the black community, as well as the thoughtful death row letters of a seventeen year old who was unjustly convicted, a case championed by Amnesty International, was certainly more serious than the missed quiz question I just heard a student utter a flippant “f**k” over.

But apparently, despite the director’s caveat, someone wrote in to the president to complain that they are heard some bad words: damn, piss, s**t, etc. (A smart actor, Mr. Bain mumbled some of them, emphasizing the choking injustice.) Not only that, but a few other folks on campus as well have objected to the show because of the language. As usual, no one has actually stood up and talked to the artists involved.

These mostly anonymous censors certainly have a right to express their taste, and I think that a good education should broaden folks’ vocabularies beyond the dullard’s default to a couple-a friggin adjectives. But by focusing on less than one percent of the words, they reveal that they missed the social justice message of Lyrics from Lockdown. Naturally, given our increasingly diverse student body, all of the tens of students I’ve asked about the show praised it highly. One student I heard talking to another faculty member said it made her very proud to be at our college.

It just doesn’t strike me as in good faith (in all senses of that phrase) to listen to a man who tells a story about being wrongly locked up for two nights and three days and then at the end say: “Um. Not cool, dude. You swore.” But these folks aren’t even facing the artists. They are complaining to others. This sort of behavior is not conducive to community, particularly one that wants to pursue conversations about faith, learning, and Adventist identity. The last I checked, talking over folks’ heads is not a conversation.

Of course, as a member of the audience, I felt that the lyrical profanity expressed the inanity and insanity. Bain gave us a gray world not shown by Hannity, but, it is a true reality, for far too much of humanity. Henry David Thoreau once wrote, “Could a greater miracle take place than for us to look through each other’s eyes for an instant?” I’m personally glad for the chance to see and hear from New York while cloistered in Angwin. What a profane miracle.

Yes, sometimes seeing the world through anOther’s eyes can be shocking. But sometimes, that’s the point. It definitely was in Lyrics from Lockdown. It was a free show, no one was required to attend, and Bryonn Bain was a guest on our campus. Unless the folks objecting have also spent three days in New York jails because of the color of their skin or worked within the soul-sucking prison industrial complex, I imagine we probably shouldn’t be telling guests how they should describe their experiences with racism and wrongful imprisonment. There was nothing tasteless in the truth that Mr. Bain shared about how he was profiled and dehumanized. Now if someone is more offended by swearing than racism and injustice, at least going public about that confusion of priorities is a good place to start a conversation, I guess.

There is a quaint myth out there that Christians don’t use strong language. But in fact, the Bible spits plenty of vulgar language. For example, Isaiah writes, and the Authorized King James Version committee of scholars translates, “Hath my master sent me to thy master and to thee to speak these words? Hath he not sent me to the men that sit upon the wall, that they may eat their own dung, and drink their own piss with you? (36:12)” Oh, snap! And Saul calls Jonathan a “son of a bitch,” which I find repulsive, but it fits with the narrative that’s unfolding in 1 Samuel 20 of the first king of Israel destroying everyone around him. There’s more. But most importantly, Jesus calls us to care about captives and even bring freedom to the oppressed (Luke 4). And Bryonn Bain, who uses his Harvard Law degree in his prison reform work, seems to be doing the work of the Lord. And from my reading of the Gospels, especially Matthew 5:22, as long as someone is not swearing at another person, Jesus really cares less about what we say, and a lot more about what we do.

This gets back to an old problem: prooftexting in which folks focus on a word or link random verses while losing sight of always, already present truth. All too often we not only do it with the Bible, but also with folks around us, taking them out of context, and looking for a way to dismiss messages that don’t fit with our sheltered experience of the world. As the great Christian pastor Tony Campolo likes to say, “I have three things to say today. First, while you were sleeping last night, 30,000 kids died of starvation or diseases related to malnutrition. Second, most of you don’t give a shit. What’s worse is that you’re more upset with the fact that I said shit than the fact that 30,000 kids died last night.”

After all, although we teach nineteenth century literature, history and visual arts here, Pacific Union College is not a finishing school. But we do have some work to finish. And a world of actual injustice, not merely words, to get upset about.

Student Suspended over Crude Video

Posted on 22. Oct, 2009 by Peter Katz in Campus

The following information is an account based on a phone interview with Robert Curnutte at 12:53pm on Thursday, 22 October 2009. All facts and opinions expressed – aside from the general, official statements made by the administration – are based on information from Curnutte’s perspective. All administration is bound by FERPA confidentiality, and must therefore officially decline to comment or acknowledge any case.

For intramurals, Robert Curnutte (sophomore) and his teammates named their team “Triple Thick Protein Shake.” According to Curnutte, when Coach Bob Paulson was in the process of examining the appropriateness of the teams’ names, he came across a video Curnutte had made in his Newton dorm room last year. In the video – which has been removed from the site – Curnutte talked about a prank involving a high school classmate, a milkshake, and bodily fluid. Curnutte maintains that the actual event never happened, and was merely capitalizing on a rumor that had circulated his senior year of high school.

As Curnutte tells it, Paulson first contacted the team captain, and then called in Curnutte. He allegedly conveyed that he found the video distasteful, and told Curnutte to expect a call from the deans. Curnutte met with the deans, who purportedly questioned him for approximately an hour. “It felt like I was going to get a slap on the wrist,” Curnutte says of the meeting.

Three days later, at 6:00pm, Curnutte says he received a call telling him to report to PUC’s Judicial Committee at 1:00pm the next afternoon. Curnutte reports feeling that “I didn’t have enough time to get an advocate,” and after the meeting, he felt that it would be “useless” to get one for the second, because he felt as though the only remaining question was “what should we do to punish you?”.

Curnutte says that the committee brainstormed punishments, and had him formulate a proposal for possible punishments. He proposed counseling, community service, and Bible studies, in an effort to, as he put it, “seem remorseful and try to come to some sort of conclusion.” At 9:00pm that night, Curnutte says he received an email sent at 7:30pm informing him that he had been suspended, and needed to vacate the premises for three days. According to Curnutte, his father had to “borrow money from my grandparents” to come and retrieve him and take him to their home.

In addition to suspension, Curnutte says that the Judicial Committee is requiring him to talk with the individual about whom the video was made. Curnutte says the individual has “never seen the video,” and does not attend PUC.

Dr. Lisa Bissell Paulson, head of PUC’s Judicial Committee this year, is by law not allowed to comment on any specific case, and officially declined to confirm or deny the existence of any judicial case at this time. She did give this statement: “For any judicial system that we deal with, we prayerfully deliberate and make decisions that are consistent with what we’ve done before, and that we hope will be right for the student and the college’s best interest.”

In the case of any judicial matter, she also directed all inquiries with this statement: “Every student has signed an agreement to abide by the expectations of the college, and that information and the whole process and procedure can be found online the student handbook.” Curnutte maintains that Judicial Committee informed him that he has violated the fourth responsibility in the Student Life Agreement found in the Student Handbook, which reads: “To maintain high standards of taste and decency in conduct, expression and citizenship.”

In addition to a Facebook group, there is circulating on campus a student petition that claims that Curnutte did not receive due process. Student judicial rights are on page 38 and 39 in the Student Handbook.

The Man Behind the Lyrics: An interview with Bryonn Bain

Posted on 11. Oct, 2009 by Peter Katz in Interview

Bryonn Bain interviewd by Peter Katz

C2: Race and ethnicity play a big part in your show.  Tell us a little about your family background.

BB: My family is like the United Nations.  My mom’s side is South Asian; she came to Trinidad from India.  My dad’s side came to Trinidad from West Africa.  So I’m Asian, I’m African… I grew up in Panama, […] speaking Spanish and English.  I’ve also traveled pretty extensively throughout Latin America.

C2: So, how did you get started doing spoken word/hip hop?

BB: I grew up performing.  My dad was a calypso singer, who won his way to New York City.  Calypso is Trinidad’s gift to the world.  I remember being seven years old singing “Matilda, Matilda…” [laughs]  I had no idea that there was some serious patriarchal implications; it’s like old-school “Gold digger.”  Calypso singers have names like rappers […] one of my favorites was a guy named Black Stalin.  My favorite song of his was all about evil and the afterlife, all the folks in the world who have been greedy getting their just deserts.  I grew up with that [calypso music], so it was inevitable.  My brothers and I began performing in high school talent shows, and then in local prisons during the holidays.  For us, it was a great time to connect with folks who would really appreciate it—[laughs] I mean, they’ve got nowhere to go, it’s a captive audience, right?  I had no idea that a decade later, after going to prisons around the country to raise awareness in local communities about how devastating the prison system is to society, I would have an encounter with the NYPD that would lead me to suing them.

C2: Outside of your cultural background, what else has influenced you in your work; specifically, which artists and genres?

BB:  I’ve been in singing groups, hip hop bands, writing poetry since elementary school.  As a kid, my first rappers and poets were people like Rock Kim, Microphone Fiend … What I admired was their ability to speak intelligently through music in a way that was not preachy, but was really captivating and spoke to the realities of folks who didn’t’ have a lot of access to material wealth, but who had an abundance of spiritual wealth to give to the world.  Later on, people lie Queen Latifah in her early days, Lauryn Hill, MC Light, Run DMC, LL Cool J, the Jackson 5.  On the other hand, I have a lot of more “traditional influences.”  My English teacher in either 7^th or  8^th grade gave us The Raven by Edgar Allen Poe, and I read the line about “tap tap tapping on my door” and I was like, “This guy’s rapping in the nineteenth century.”  Other poets like Langston Hughes…that whole movement; the music of jazz singers like Billie Holiday Nina Simone, Ma Rainey, Bessie Smith.  My dad had really eclectic musical tastes.  Obviously, there was a lot of calypso, but he also played reggae…anything from Led Zeppelin and the Grateful Dead, to Chopin and Bach and Mozart.  Just this last week, I worked some classical music into the show.  I think it not only provides a really profound contrast, but it demonstrates the wider whole of the human experience, how everything ties in.

C2: Can you explain that a little more?

BB: Hip hop and theater audiences traditionally aren’t the same audience.  Hip hop appears in the inner city with Black and Latinos in the early nineteen hundreds; classical music is music that came out of Europe from 1500-1900—and that’s the period during which my ancestors were being enslaved.  I think contrasting what’s seeing as “high civilization” with what has unfortunately received the stereotype of being “low civilization” or “low art” shows on some level that they come from a similar human need to express something that’s beyond ourselves.

C2: I know that part of your play deals with a potentially wrongfully imprisoned man on death row whose sentence may be commuted to life.  Is there any news on his case?

BB:  Nanon Williams was incarcerated at seventeen for murdering someone during a bad drug deal.  He’s admitted that he was part of the drug deal, but insists that he has not killed that person.  For the last five years a newspaper revealed a series of fabrications revealing a lot of botched evidence in both his case and others involving the Houston Police Department. He’s having a new hearing around his case; his attorneys have gotten the court to rehear his case on  January 11 of next year.  There’s another man, Troy Davis, in a similar predicament.  Seven out of nine witnesses in his case have recanted.  When seven of nine say that they were lying…[unamused laugh].

The point is, though, even killing someone who has committed murder isn’t justice.  We should be thinking of restorative justice.  An eye for an eye is barbarous.  Their cases are important, but they also raise the question, “what kind of society do we want to be?”  Should one of the most modernized societies in the world still be using medieval methods to deal with social problems?  Especially when it’s been established that the criminal justice system disproportionately incarcerates, murders, etc. people of color.  It’s important to raise awareness where people would doubt a person of color, just because they might say that you’re only upset because that person looks like you.

C2: There are a couple of main themes that run through your show—race/ethnicity, the human experience, what it means to be an artist, an African-American—what do you think are some of the most important themes?

BB: I think there are a few themes that run throughout the show.  One of the main themes appears right at the beginning: things are often not what they seem.  All too often, we see people on the outside, take things at surface value, when in reality, there are always sublevels, I mean layers and layers […].  It’s wrong to suggest that people are anything otherwise, that we aren’t multiple layers; people of other backgrounds are of a far more complex background than we know.  At the same time, at some point, we have this common essence.  Some people believe that we are our bodies that have a soul.  I don’t.  I don’t think we have a soul, I think we are a soul, and our souls have these bodies.  If you have that basic point, that we have the is underlying spirit that’s beyond all this, that—at least for me—forces me to not assume that I understand the journey of someone else’s soul, however many years, decades, hundreds of years that might be.  I think that the show is getting that the idea that, though it’s almost cliché to say that we can’t judge a book by its cover, we forget, we need to be reminded of it.  Give folks the benefit of the doubt, motivating folks beyond what we see on the surface of things.

Another overall theme is the of the inhumanity of a society that is the most powerful, most technologically advanced society in history, yet still feels the need to strip more people of their rights than any other country.  I mean, they put a 17 year old kid on death row; that just doesn’t happen with white kids.  If white men were incarcerated with the frequency of black and brown, it would be a national crisis; we’d have analysts trying to figure out how to solve the problem.  But that’s the thing.  We weren’t brought here to become the president, we were brought here to be exploited.  That calls for a central message of human justice.  At the same time that I have all these serious topics, there’s a whole lot of humor, because we have to laugh to keep from crying.  I certainly don’t take these topics lightly, but humor is an aid, a part of the process.

In the end, it comes down to the idea that “We are because I am”; there is no individual without his or her community.  I think the piece is showing that.  [Being wrongfully incarcerated] was an experience that changed my life, and so it’s an iteration of that experience and the folks to had the greatest influence on my life.