SEPTEMBER 8. 2010 • SINCE 1887 VOL. 124 NO. 2 "SPERA IN DEO HOPE COLLEGE • HOLLAND. MICHIGAN Hope welcomes global students Gretchen Baldwin STAFF WRITER The last weekend in August marked the entrance of around 750 first-year students into Hope College. Twenty of these new arrivals were international students - four-year, full-time students from across the globe who have chosen to spend their college years in Holland. Their homes range from Canada to China to Brazil. Some, like Carmina O'Sullivan-Scimemi ('14) from Poland, are American citizens who live abroad with their families. Others, like David Mwee (14) of Kenya, are setting foot on United States soil for the first time in coming to Hope. Since these international students enter with different levels of experience with American culture, Hope puts on an orientation tailored to the specific needs of students coming in from overseas. Beginning six days before the entire class of 2014 arrived, this year's orientation dealt with general subjects such as finding one's way around campus and navigating the madness of Phelps. It also included events PHOTO BY GRHCHEN^^DWIN FLYING HIGH— Flags outside the Martha Miller Center rep- resent the countries of Hope's new International students. like a bonfire, a canoeing trip and a question-and-answer panel of international students who have already spent time at Hope. In having this orientation, the international community at Hope immediately begins to grow together. Establishing a solid community with a common bond allows them to be better prepared to face what can be for any incoming first-year an extremely daunting transition. Despite this huge change, the feedback from Hope's newest international students has been all excitement over meeting new people and, according to Yoonsun Ro ('14) of South Korea, the "welcoming atmosphere of the students." As a primarily American student body, we can continue this welcoming atmosphere by getting involved in the International Relations Club, attending some of Hope's many multi-cultural events or attending Hope College Global Coffee Hour on Sept. 9. The IRC will be hosting the event at 11 a.m. Thursday in thefirstfloor rotunda of the Martha Miller Center. Richard Ray named provost Chris Russ ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR Following the retirement of Provost Dr. James Boelkins at the end of the 2009-2010 school year, a position he had held since Dr. Richard Ray PHOTO COURTESY OF P R 2002, Hope College embarked on a nationwide search to find his replacement. However, it turns out the college didn't need to search very far for the new appointee. In May the College _ announced that the office had been filled by a man who has been a part of the Hope community for almost three decades, Dr. R. Richard Ray Jr. Ray came to Hope in 1982 as a professor of kinesiology. In 2003 he was appointed chair of the department of kinesiology and five years later he became the dean of social sciences. As a kinesiologist, he won a number of awards and honors. Most prominently, in June 2006 he was elected to the National Athletic Trainers' Association Hall of What didyou do this summer? Fame. "I killed 10 dwarves and two dragons while guarding maidens as a lifeguard, but also, 1 had an internship do- ing graphic design." -Christoff Visscher '12 "I explored downtown Chicago with friends and had my first experience working at a fast-food restaurant." - Katie Holmwood '14 "1 danced with middle- schoolers on many occa- sions while chanting non- obscene words...as a youth intern." - Garrett Stier '12 "I worked at a com detas- seling company driving tractors." - Zada Harris '14 Some of Ray's other accomplishments in his time at Hope include guiding the college through its 2004 re- accreditation by The Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools, and aiding the athletic training program in becoming a full accredited major at Hope. Ray earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Michigan in 1979 and earned his master's and doctorate from Western Michigan University. As the provost, Ray has adopted the far-reaching responsibilities of the position. Ray described his responsibilities as "pretty much anything having to do with the academic program at the college." Further explaining his position, Ray said, "I work with a lot of people in helping to make sure that the academic program is of the highest possible quality for our students." For much of the decision making process, he works with a group known as the dean's council. The council includes each of the college's deans, library director Kelly Jacobs, director of general education Lorna Jarvis and dean for academic services and registrar Jon Huisken. "The dean's council considers questions related to the academic program and we work with faculty to get those questions answered." Ray said When Ray was asked what goals he was working towards as provost he reiterated three primary goals that he recently shared in a speech to the school's faculty. "Improvising the overall qual- ity of the academic program" was the first goal he laid out. This first point included three sub- points, the first of which was to improve the writing skills of the student body. The second sub- point as stated by the provost was "improving our students' cultural competence." "Now that we have an increas- ing number of student and faculty of color, we have an even greater responsibility to make sure we're reaching our goals in this part of the curriculum and we're not right now." Working toward the strengths of each individual program was the third sub-point he described. SEE PROVOST PAGE 2 W H A T ' S I N S I D E NATIONAL ARTS VOICES SPORTS 8 11 Jazzy Japan— Hope s Jazz Ensemble re- turns from a summer in Japan. Page 5 Get Involved!— Learn about Hope s many extracurricular activities. Page 6- 7 Got a story idea? Let us know at [email protected], or call us at 395-7877^
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Transcript
SEPTEMBER 8. 2010 • S INCE 1887
V O L . 1 2 4
N O . 2
"SPERA IN D E O H O P E COLLEGE • H O L L A N D . M I C H I G A N
Hope welcomes global students Gretchen Baldwin STAFF WRITER
The last weekend in August
marked the en t rance of a round 750 first-year s tudents into
H o p e College. Twenty of these new arrivals were international
s tudents - four-year, ful l - t ime
s tudents f rom across the globe who have chosen to spend their
college years in Holland. Their homes range f rom Canada to
China to Brazil. Some, like Carmina
O'Sullivan-Scimemi ('14) f rom
Poland, are American citizens who live abroad with their
families. Others , like David Mwee (14) of Kenya, are set t ing
foot on United States soil for the
first t ime in coming to Hope. Since these internat ional
s tudents enter with different
levels of experience with American culture, H o p e pu t s o n an or ienta t ion tailored to the specific needs of s tudents
coming in f rom overseas. Beginning six days before the
entire class of 2014 arrived, this
year's or ienta t ion dealt with general subjects such as finding
one's way a round c a m p u s and
navigating the madness of Phelps. It also included events
P H O T O BY G R H C H E N ^ ^ D W I N
FLYING HIGH— Flags outs ide the Mar tha Mi l ler Center rep-resent t he countr ies of Hope's new Internat ional s tudents .
like a bonfire, a canoeing tr ip and
a ques t ion-and-answer panel of internat ional s tudents who
have already spent t ime at Hope. In having this or ienta t ion, the
internat ional communi ty at
H o p e immediately begins to grow together. Establishing a solid communi ty with a c o m m o n bond allows t h e m to be bet ter
prepared to face what can be
for any incoming first-year an extremely daunt ing transit ion.
Despi te this huge change, the feedback f rom Hope 's
newest internat ional s tudents
has been all exci tement over
meet ing new people and,
according to Yoonsun Ro ('14) of South Korea, the "welcoming
a tmosphere of the students." As a primarily American
s tudent body, we can cont inue
this welcoming a tmosphere by getting involved in the Internat ional Relations Club,
a t tending some of Hope's many mult i -cul tural events or
a t tending H o p e College Global
Coffee Hour on Sept. 9. The IRC will be host ing the event at 11
a.m. Thursday in the first floor ro tunda of the Mar tha Miller
Center.
Richard Ray named provost Chris Russ ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR
Following the re t i rement of Provost Dr. James Boelkins at the end of the 2009-2010 school
year, a posit ion he had held since
Dr. Richard Ray P H O T O COURTESY O F P R
2002, H o p e College embarked
on a nat ionwide search to find his replacement . However, it
tu rns ou t the college didn't need to search very far for the new
appointee . In May the College _ announced that the office
had been filled by a m a n who has been a par t of the Hope
communi ty for almost th ree decades, Dr. R. Richard Ray
Jr. Ray came to Hope in 1982
as a professor of kinesiology. In 2003 he was appoin ted
chair of the d e p a r t m e n t
of kinesiology and five years later he became the dean of social sciences.
As a kinesiologist, he w o n a n u m b e r of awards and
honors . Most prominently, in June 2006 he was elected
to the National Athletic Trainers ' Association Hall of
What did you do this summer?
Fame.
"I killed 10 dwarves and two dragons while guarding maidens as a lifeguard, but also, 1 had an internship do-ing graphic design."
-Christoff Visscher '12
"I explored downtown Chicago with fr iends and had my first exper ience working at a fas t - food restaurant ."
- Katie Ho lmwood ' 14
"1 danced with middle-schoolers on many occa-sions while chanting non-obscene words. . .as a youth intern."
- Garrett Stier '12
"I worked at a com detas-seling company driving tractors."
- Zada Harris ' 14
Some of Ray's o ther
accompl i shments in his t ime
at Hope include guiding the
college th rough its 2004 re-accreditat ion by The Higher Learning Commiss ion of the
Nor th Central Association of Colleges and Schools, and aiding
the athletic training p rogram
in becoming a full accredi ted major at Hope. Ray ea rned his
undergraduate degree f rom the University of Michigan in 1979 and ea rned his master 's
and doctorate f rom Western
Michigan University. As the provost , Ray has
adopted the far-reaching
responsibilities of the position. Ray descr ibed his responsibilities
as "pretty much anything having
to do with the academic program
at the college." Further explaining his
position, Ray said, "I work with a
lot of people in helping to make
sure that the academic program is of the highest possible quality
for our students." For m u c h of the decision
making process, he works with a g roup known as the dean's
council. The council includes
each of the college's deans, library director Kelly Jacobs, director of
general educat ion Lorna Jarvis and dean for academic services
and registrar Jon Huisken. "The dean's council considers
quest ions related to the academic
p rogram and we work with faculty to get those quest ions
answered." Ray said W h e n Ray was asked what
goals he was working towards as provost he reiterated three
pr imary goals that he recently shared in a speech to the school's
faculty.
"Improvising the overall qual-
ity of the academic program" was the first goal he laid out . This
first point included three sub-points, the first of which was to
improve the wri t ing skills of the s tudent body. The second sub-
point as stated by the provost was "improving our s tudents '
cultural competence." "Now that we have an increas-
ing n u m b e r of s tudent and faculty of color, we have an even
greater responsibility to make sure we're reaching our goals in this par t of the curr iculum and
we're not right now." Working toward the strengths
of each individual program
was the thi rd sub-point he
described.
SEE PROVOST PAGE 2
W H A T ' S I N S I D E
N A T I O N A L
A R T S
V O I C E S
S P O R T S
8
11
Jazzy Japan— Hope s Jazz Ensemble re-turns from a summer in Japan.
Page 5
Get Involved!— Learn about Hope s many extracurricular activities.
Page 6- 7
Got a story idea? Let us know at [email protected], or call us at 395-7877^
of 12 fitness ambassadors chosen by Gov. Jennifer Granholm to
lead the 53rd annual Labor Day
Mackinac Bridge Run. Fitness ambassadors were chosen for
their unique and inspiring stories.
Hunnell led 400 runners across
the five-mile bridge. She began running with her father and was
a member of her high school
track team. In May, she and her father completed a marathon
in Traverse City. Mackinac
Bridge Labor Day runners are
randomly selected from an online
registration process.
GRAD PRAISES RESEARCH EXPERIENCE
Hope graduate Shirley Bradley (MO) published an article entitled
"My Passion for Research" in
the September 2010 edition of "Enzymatic," the newsletter of
the Undergraduate Affiliates
Network of the American Society for Biochemistry and
Molecular Biology. The article
reflects on her four years working with Dr. Maria Bumatowska-
Hledin, professor of biology and
chemistry at Hope. She discusses the academic advancement that
research at I lope College provided her and her reasoning to give
back by sharing her experiences
with others through scientific demonstrations for younger students. Bradley majored in
biology and chemistry with
minors in political science and mathematics and is now pursuing
a doctorate in biochemistry and molecular biology at the Mayo
Clinic.
New Writing Comer available Administration and faculty take steps to improve students' writing skills
HOTO BY K A T Y C A R L S O N
W R I T E IT OUT— Located on the first floor of t he Van Wylen Library, the new Wr i t ing Cor-ner is avai lable to help s tudents improve the i r w r i t i ng ski i is .
Mada lyn Muncy ASSISTANT CAMPUS EDITOR
It is that t ime of year: the syl-
labi have been dis t r ibuted and the papers are looming. College
s tudents of every major are re-
quired to write, and becoming a bet ter wri ter takes a lot of prac-
tice.
All s tudents can let out a sigh of relief: the H o p e College Writ-
ing C o r n e r is open for business! Located in Van Wylen Library
on the main floor near the refer-
ence desk, the Wri t ing Corner provides peer tu tors of a vari-
ety of majors who will guide the
wri t ing process in a side-by-side manner . The corner will also
sponsor workshops for s tudents
every m o n t h on specific wri t ing
topics. The Wri t ing C o r n e r replaces
the wri t ing tu to r ing services of
the Academic Suppor t Cen te r and is current ly directed by the
English d e p a r t m e n t . As a result,
the tu tor ing services have been
expanded. Wri ters of every ability level
and ma jo r are encouraged to make an appo in tmen t or to d rop
in. "Wri t ing is a process - ev-
ery writer of every skill level and
every ma jo r needs feedback," explained English d e p a r t m e n t
chair Dr. David Klooster.
Wri t ing improvement has
been a recent point of discus-sion among faculty. Their Pre-
College Conference was entit led "Wri t ing at Every Level: From
First-Year Compos i t ion to Writ-
ing in the Majors." Hope College faculty m e m b e r s are dedicated
to be t te r serving s tudents when
it comes to writing. The need for a bet ter writ-
ing cur r icu lum strategy comes
f rom five recent studies ranging
f rom s tandardized tests, such as the Collegiate Learning Assess-
ment , to taking wri t ing samples
to asking s tudents to repor t on their wri t ing habits. From there,
results were compared to o the r
colleges. H o p e s tudents seem to wri te fewer papers, prepare
fewer dra f t s and thus advance
less in their wri t ing ability. Klooster explained that all of
these variables together "paint-
ed a picture that we could do a bet ter job at helping s tudents
become bet ter writers. W e need
higher s tandards in order to get s tudents to wri te more draf t s
and longer papers."
SEE WRITING PAGE 1 0
Ray steps into role as provost • P r o v o s t , f r o m p a g e 1
Ray then explained his second
major goal for the college.
"Whi le we're s imultaneously
trying to boost quality, we're also trying to reduce the cost
of delivery of the academic
program, so that the dollars that our s tudents pay to go here go
as far as possible."
The third goal laid ou t by Ray will be to encourage an
a tmosphere of togetherness on
the campus . W h e n asked if he had any
thoughts or advice for the s tudents of H o p e College, Ray
said, "1 hope that every s tudent
will consider h im or herself the C E O of their o w n corpora t ion .
Remember that college is a 40
hour per week plus over t ime job and that hard work not only
pays off, but it also provides great joy. I hope s tudents take
that message to heart."
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S E P T E M B E R 8 . 2 0 1 0 NATIONAL T H E A N C H O R 3
Obama:'Cautiously hopeful, but hopeful' The Obama administration struggles to remain optimistic about the forthcoming Mid east peace talks. Matthew Lee CO-NATJONAL EDITOR
For the first t ime since
December 2008, Israel and Palestine are resuming peace
talks. Though the talks have s tar ted m u c h the same as
past efforts , the O b a m a
adminis t ra t ion and o thers involved are hoping for a
different outcome. Secretary of State Hilary
Cl inton is set to sit d o w n with Israeli Pr ime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu and Palestinian
Authori ty President M a h m o u d Abbas on Thursday.
President Barack O b a m a held a working d inner with Abbas,
Netanyahu, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and King
Abdullah II of Jordan Sept. 1. "I am hopeful—cautiously
hopeful , but hopefu l—that we
can achieve the goal that all four
of these leaders articulated," O b a m a said before the dinner .
The caut ious a t t i tude of t he O b a m a adminis t ra t ion s tems
f rom the fact that these two
countr ies have done this before. In December 2008 the
peace talks be tween Israel and
Palestine ended shortly before
Israel at tacked Hamas in Gaza. Israel claims that the attacks
were in response to the shelling f rom Hamas mil i tants in Gaza.
Though the two count r ies
have been here before, the r u m o r
of peace talks is a g l immer of hope rarely seen be tween the two
countr ies . O b a m a campaigned o n this issue, saying f rom day one
of his presidency he would work
to bring peace to the region. He
told C N N . "A m o m e n t in t ime wi thin which there remains the possibility of achieving the
two-sta te solution, which is so essential to comprehens ive
peace in the region, that difficult
problems in the future." Though there is hope, top
officials close to the negotiat ions remain caut ious and claim it is
hard to remain optimist ic about a peace deal at the momen t . They
T O G E T H E R A S ONE— The Palestinian flag (left) and the Israeli flag (right) areShdwh tbgetFTer as one flag. The two countries have been In conflict with one another for quite some time and this graphic
Is symbolic of the hope for a peaceful future.
kept that promise by appoint ing as it may be for bo th leaders, and we recognize that difficulty for bo th of t h e m — t h e al ternatives
for t h e m and the member s of their societies pose far greater difficulties and far greater
fo rmer Sen. George Mitchell to be a media tor be tween the two
countries . "There is a window of
oppor tuni ty right now," Mitchell
downplayed the recent news by saying that no one expects to
reach an agreement in the next
week. Just the fact that meet ings
are p lanned is hope in itself
US combat missions end in Iraq Amy Alvlne SENIOR STAFF WRITER
O n Aug. 31, President Barack O b a m a delivered an address
f rom the oval office abou t the end of the comba t mission in Iraq,
ongoing security challenges and
the need to rebuild our country. The Iraq War (or Opera t ion
Iraqi Freedom) officially began
seven years ago o n March 20, 2003. Wi th Iraq's unemploymen t
at a high and the economy on unstable ground, a fu tu re of
lasting peace and long- term prosperi ty seems anything but .
"A war to d isarm a state became a fight against an
insurgency," O b a m a said. Currently, there are 49,700
t roops in Iraq, and since the beginning of the war there have
been 4,420 U.S. t roop casualties. The Uni ted States has removed
100,000 t roops and equ ipment f rom the count ry n o w as
Opera t ion Iraqi Freedom drew
to an end. To show that the U.S.
commi tmen t to Iraq is still
unwavering, a transit ional force of U.S. t roops will remain in
Iraq with a different mission. According to O b a m a , this new
mission will include "advising and assisting Iraq's security
forces, suppor t ing Iraqi t roops in targeted counte r te r ror i sm missions and protec t ing our
civilians." O b a m a also conf i rmed in his
speech that all U.S. t roops in the count ry will leave Iraq by the
incidents in Iraq have been the
lowest on record since t he war began, and the elect ions have
been credible
with s t rong tu rnou t s . But
in the end, it
boils down to t he people of
Iraq to resolve the internal
d i f f e r e n c e s that are
i m p a c t i n g the country,
building a
d e m o c r a t i c f o r m of
g o v e r n m e n t a n d
m o n i t o r i n g their streets .
" T h e
g r e a t n e s s of our
democracy is g rounded in
our ability to Photo by Sgt. Ry Norrls, Courtesy of US Army move beyond
ON THE WAY OUT - 3rd Infantry Division Task our differences.
Force Marne soldiers board a C-17 leaving Contln-and to learn
gency Operating Base Spelcher In Iraq. f r om our experience
end of next year. The efforts of the U.S. forces
in Iraq have not been vain. "We've me t our responsibility," O b a m a said. The security
• J t U M J
as we conf ron t the many challenges
ahead," O b a m a said. To be o n the defense, the
count ry needs to employ the necessary resources .Thisdefense
will soon be seen in Afghanis tan with the arrival of more t roops
because the president o rdered
the deployment of more t roops to fight the Taliban force. But
come August 2011, the United States will begin a transit ion
to Afghan accountability. The
reduct ion in the number of U.S. t roops in Afghanistan, however,
will be decided by the a m o u n t of
g round activity. Along with talking about t he
end of the war in Iraq and the fu tu re of activity in Afghanistan,
the pres ident also addressed our
economic issues at home . " "Unfortunately, over the
last decade, we've not done what 's necessary to shore up
the foundat ions of our own prosperity," O b a m a said. "We spent a trillion dollars at war, o f ten f inanced by borrowing
f rom overseas. This, in turn, has shor tchanged investments in our o w n people, and cont r ibuted
to record def ic i ts . . .Our mos t
urgent task is to restore our economy." Efforts to encourage
innovat ion are taking place to end U.S. dependence o n foreign
oil. To bring his 18-minute
speech to a close, t he president
concluded that the U.S. needs to "earn victory th rough the success of our par tners and the s t rength
of our own nation."
and the O b a m a adminis t ra t ion
has vowed to do anything it can. A comprehensive Middle
East peace deal has been one of Obama's top foreign policy
goals. "President Abbas, you are
my par tner in peace. And it is up to us, with the help of
our friends, to conclude the
agonizing conflict be tween our peoples and to afford them a
new beginning," Pr ime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said at the
Sept. 1 dinner. Abbas said it was t ime to end
the bloodshed. "We want peace be tween the
two countr ies . ... Let us sign a
formal agreement for peace and put an end to this long per iod of
suffering forever," he said. Israeli and Palestinian leaders
have agreed to m e e t again on
Sept. 14 and 15, and roughly every two weeks thereafter,
Mitchell said. The leaders have said that
for negotiat ions to succeed,
they "must be kept private" and "treated with the u tmos t
sensitivity," Mitchell added.
Want to get your
Naturally, The Anchor is always look ing for pr in t -savvy students to j u m p on board the staff!
The nat ional sect ion is always look ing for eager and wi l l ing wr i t -ers. No experience is necessary.Come check out the op-por tun i t ies to get your name in pr in t as a wr i ter ! Inf lu-ence the aware-ness of wor ld events on campus!
Email the staff at [email protected] or come to one of our Sunday meet-ings at 6 pm in the Anchor off ice to talk w i t h the na-t ional staff.
4 T H E A N C H O R N A T I O N A L SEPTEMBER 8 . 2 0 1 0
T H I S S U M M E R I N
Q U O T E S
" S o m e said he was crazy. But they didn ' t c o u n t o n w h a t would h a p p e n w h e n o n e force of n a t u r e m e t another."
- P r e s i d e n t O b a m a in h i s s p e e c h
at Xavier Univers i ty , o n t h e col-
lege p r e s iden t ' s p r o m i s e t o r e o p e n t h e un ive r s i t y m e r e m o n t h s a f t e r
t h e Kat r ina disaster .
"School is n o t all t ha t it can be. Right now, it is a p lace for m o s t peop le t o d e t e r m i n e tha t the i r goal is t o get o u t as s o o n as possible. . . now, I have successful ly s h o w n tha t I was t he bes t slave... 1 excelled at every sub jec t just for t he p u r p o s e of excelling, no t learn ing . A n d qui te frankly, n o w I'm scared."
- V a l e d i c t o r i a n Erica G o l d s o n
in h e r c o n t r o v e r t i a l g r a d u a t i o n
a d d r e s s a t C o x s a c k i e - A t h e n s H i g h
School , Coxsack ie , N.Y., o n June
25. *
"Don ' t get sick. A n d if you do get sick, die quickly."
- Rep. A lan G r a y s o n (D-Fla . ) ,
d e s c r i b i n g his v i ew of t h e R e p u b -
l ican h e a l t h c a r e p l an .
" N a n c y Pelosi, I t h ink , has got: t h e m all l i quored up o n sake a n d you know, they ' re m a k i n g a su ic ide r u n here."
- Sen . L indsey G r a h a m (R-S.C.)
said of t h e D e m o c r a t s ' final p u s h
for t h e h e a l t h c a r e bill.
Progress, challenges noted on Katrina's fifth anniversar
"This is really a year to
shine. If that means I ' v e
got to break out my Bat-
man dance, then I'll do
it."
- B e r s h a w n " B a t m a n " Jackson , O l y m p i c b r o n z e m e d a l i s t in 400 -
m e t e r h u r d l e s , o n h o w t o b r i n g
i n c r e a s e d a t t e n t i o n t o his s p o r t .
"It all sort of makes sense,
if your thinking is; "Gul f
Coas t " plus "bad thing
happening" plus ("gov-
ernment response" minus
"secret magic powers they
are supposed to have over
the e lements") multiplied
by "Whatever , it 's a slow
news day o therwise"
equals "Katr ina Z O M G ! "
- Wri ter for the Huf f ing ton Post Ja-
son Linkins desc r ib ing the g r o w i n g
populari ty of the phrase " O b a m a ' s
Kat r ina ."
Lacle Rawl ings GUEST WRITER
Five years after the vicious
Hurr icane Katrina pummeled the Gulf Coast, President Barack
O b a m a traveled to Xavier University in New Orleans to
share updates on the af termath
as well as his usual enthusiasm for hope.
In a speech on Aug. 29, O b a m a encouraged people affected by
the hurr icane not to dwell on
the experiences of the past but to instead look at New Orleans
as a "symbol of resilience and
community." "New Orleans could have
remained a symbol ofdes t ruct ion and decay; of a s torm that came
and the inadequate response
that followed," O b a m a said. "It was not hard to imagine a
day when we'd tell our children
of a once vibrant and wonderful city laid low by indifference and
neglect," O b a m a said. "But that
is not what happened. It's not
what happened at Ben Franklin. It's not what happened at Xavier.
And that 's not what happened
across New Orleans and the
Gulf Coast. It is t rue that this city has become a symbol. But
it's a symbol of resilience, of
community, of the fundamenta l
responsibility we have for one
another." Obama's speech also
gave particular attention to reconstruct ion of the defaced
infras t ructure throughout
Louisiana and the plague of unemployment , which has
reached 15 percent in some
P H O T O BY D O U G L A S S W H E E L O C K , COURTESY OF
E A R L A P P R O A C H E S — A s t r o n a u t D o u g l a s s W h e e l o c k o n b o a r d t h e I n t e r n a -
t i o n a l S p a c e S t a t i o n c a p t u r e d t h i s s h o t o f H u r r i c a n e E a r l .
areas of Louisiana,
He also assured the citizens of Gulf states that his
administration will insure that
those displaced by the s torm will
once again find the oppor tuni ty to reside in their hometowns.
Adding fur ther to his
priorities, the president
expressed that the construct ion of hospitals, libraries, roads and
bridges, sewer systems andlastly,
schools, which have been allotted $1.8 billion, will be the focus of
continuing efforts in the once-
flooded city of New Orleans. Probably one of the most
significant long-lasting effects of Hurr icane Katrina (and also
Rita and Wilma) is to teach
emergency response programs to work more efficiently and
to increase preparat ions in the
event of a major disaster.
The Red Cross has expanded its capacity by adding enough
supplies in warehouses across
the nation for a disaster twice the size of Katrina. It has
also improved organizational
methods involved with large
disaster relief. The Federal Emergency
Management Agency, which underwent much public scrutiny
after its failures in dealing with
the destruct ion in the s u m m e r of 2005, has admittedly tried to
learn from its mistakes. The administrator of
FEMA, Craig Fugate, said "this
anniversary serves as a reminder that we must always be preparing
for the next disaster," according
to a public s tatement by FEMA
on Aug. 29. As this year's tropical s torm
season fuels up, the nation is
thankful that the most recent hurricane, Earl, mostly blew
itself out .
Hurr icane Earl, a category 4 s torm at its peak, weakened
to category 2 as it blew nor th
along the east coast, spitting 20-foot waves and heavy winds.
Moderate flooding and power
outages affected thousands of residents. Fortunately, no loss
of life was reported.
BP seeks permanent fix for Gulf Coast oil leak Mlke l la Bryant GUEST WRITER
The record Gulf Coast oil spill
that has had many Americans
angry at the giant oil company
BP is almost over. But the effects have been
enormous . Total job
losses equal nearly 100,000. The tourism
industry est imates
a loss of $3 billion.
Marine life such as mammals , birds and
fish struggle as they
fight for their lives. One of the hardest
hit industries is fishing and tourism. With
fishermen out of jobs,
BP has hired many of them to work cleaning
up the spill.
O n e woman observed the impact
on a local fisherman:
"I was with a next door neighbor, and he's a
42 year old fisherman, and he just broke down crying," she said. "It was a shock to see
him so upset. He's afraid we're
not going to have anything left.
We all are." To date more than $8 billion
has been spent to clean up
this disaster. Various efforts include using skimmer boats
to locate and clean up the
oil. BP has also enlisted the
local fishermen to do this job,
giving them financial support while they are out of work.
The oil spill occurred on April
20, resulting in 11 deaths and
permanent . A new blow-out
preventer was attached to the well Sept. 4. BP now must drill
into the old well by punctur ing it,
and then pumping cement into
the bot tom. This will finalize the
PHOTO COURTESY OF F E M A
M A K I N G A M E N D S — Workers a t t e m p t to cap tu re an oi l -covered pell-
can as BP focuses on c lean-up e f fo r ts In t he Gulf Coast.
206 million gallons of oil gushing into the Gulf of Mexico. With
all these statistics, everyone is holding their breath as the final
steps to plug that leak begin. On July 15 a cap was placed
over the well to temporarily stop the oil f rom spilling into the gulf.
Now, BP is currently carrying out
its new plan to make the sealant
sealant and eliminate any new
leaks. "It will virtually assure us that there's no chance of oil
leaking into the environment," retired Coast Guard Admiral
Thad Allen told reporters . Thft procedure, which was
scheduled to occur immediately,
was delayed due to Hurr icane Earl. Strong currents in the area
also sabotaged efforts. In spite
of Hurr icane Earl, BP estimates the relief drilling will be finished
by mid-September if weather
permits . In addition to permanent ly
plugging the oil leak, BP
is at tempting to reduce the leak's damage through
the creation of an escrow account that will pay money
to those who suffered
damage, loss of income and livelihood or who have other
outs tanding financial claims
against BP. The first deposit into
this account, an amount of about $3 billion, was made
earlier in August—ahead of schedule, according to a
press release.
"BP has decided to make this deposit early to
demons t ra te i t scommitment to meet its pledge to restore
both the livelihoods of those affected by the oil spill
and the environment," the
s ta tement said. The next deposit is scheduled
for the end of this year and should total near $2 billion. BP
also plans to continue deposits of
$1.25 billion for each susequent quarter. Under that timeline, full
financial reparations won't be made until the end of 2013.
T H E A N C H O R 5
P H O T O C O U R T E S Y OF H O P E P R
J A Z Z E N S E M B L E P E R F O R M S I N J A P A N - Larry Figueroa, piano; Zach Pedlgo, bass; Nate Roberts, gu i tar ; and David Webster, drums toured Japan together th is summer.
Jazz ensemble takes 20-day
tour of Japan over summer Katie Schewe A R T S CO-EDITOR
In July, the H o p e Jazz
C h a m b e r Ensemble was given the experience of a l ifetime to
tour the culturally r ich count ry
of Japan. This was the first t ime the
ensemble had been given the
oppor tuni ty to go abroad. Over the course of the trip, the
s tudents embraced the jazz
music and culture of Japan. The s tudents w h o went o n
the 20-day trip included Larry
Figueroa ('11), piano; Zach Pedigo ('12), bass; Nate Roberts
(12), guitar; and David Webster ('13), d rums . The s tudents a t tended 20 shows dur ing their
stay and also pe r fo rmed as a
group on four occasions. This allowed the s tudents
to not only experience jazz in a completely n e w sett ing, bu t to
share their talents and passion as well. "The entire point of
this t r ip was no t to have some
exciting adventure, but to learn and to share our love of music
with m e n and w o m e n of a very
different culture," Webster said. The s tudents got to experience
many different areas of Japanese jazz, but they also embraced
o the r aspects of the cul ture as
well. The s tudents got to travel the area, enabling them to
experience the un ique and rich
cul ture that Japan has to offer. Roberts wrote two songs
dur ing their stay in Japan. At
the group's final show, they pe r fo rmed these songs. This
allowed the s tudents to showcase
t he work that had been inspired by their experiences on the tour.
Reflecting o n his trip Webster
said, "Truly, this trip will be o n e that I r e m e m b e r for the rest of
my life. 1 was able to explore o n e of mankind 's greatest cities, but
more importantly, I learned a
little someth ing of what m a d e that city tick, and that was the
t rue impor tance of this journey."
Tulip Time wants your artwork Caltlln Klask A R T S CO-EDITOR
It's not Tulip Time quite yet, bu t the Holland Area Arts
Counci l wan t s West Michigan
art ists to s tar t th inking about the Dutch flowers.
The Art in Bloom poster
compet i t ion for Tulip Time 2011
has begun. Each year, the Arts Counci l selects a poster design
f r o m a local artist and puts it to use as the adver t isement for
Tulip Time. An ent ry fee of $25 is
required, which allows up to
two submissions of ar twork. All works mus t be submi t ted by
Oc t . 31. Besides the obvious perks
- like the winning poster design
displayed at the thi rd largest
town festival in Amer ica and advert ised to over a million
tour is ts - cash prizes will be given for first, second and third
place winners . The jurors this year are ready
for anything. Scott LaFontsee of
LaFontsee Galleries in Grand Rapids has served on the Grand
Rapids Gallery Associat ion for
years. Thea Grigsby, an award-winning painter f r o m Holland,
is the executive director of
the Holland Historical Trust . And lastly, Daniel Borchers, a
professional f ramer and Centra l
Michigan Uuniverstiy a lumnus , owns the Frame and Mat Shops you might see in Holland, Grand
Haven and Rockford. If you're still blase abou t
entering, consider this: a new twist o n the compet i t ion has
gone into effect this year. In a
style similar to reality shows like Amer ican Idol, jurors will
only choose the top 20 posters .
The standings f rom there are up to the people. All 20 works
will go on display th roughout Tulip Time 2011 while visitors
and locals judge and deliberate. Af te r the voting, victory will be
given to one poster designer. Now that you're interested,
here are a few details you may
need to know:
-All entr ies mus t be submit ted in digital fo rm to the
Holland Arts Counci l website. -Don' t worry about adding the
Tulip Time logo or informat ion;
that can all be added later. -Don' t worry about making
a poster-sized artwork, either.
Just keep s tandard poster d imens ions in mind so that no
drast ic changes need to be made. -Looking for advice f rom the
Ar t s Council? "Marketabili ty of the image will be one of
the p r ime considerat ions in the selections of this year's
art," their website reads.
-Any quest ions can be answered by Mary Sunds t rom, a Program
Director at the Ar t s Council .
Call her at (616) 396-3278 for more informat ion, or visit the
website at www.hollandarts .org.
G R A P H I C BY B R I T T A N Y L A P H A M
Critic's Corner: Arcade Fire goes back to 'The Suburbs' Joel Hofman GUEST WRITER
Coming off of two incredibly
successful a lbums in bo th the critical and popular realms.
Arcade Fire was left with a large task in cont inuing to evolve bo th
musically and lyrically. Whi le 2004's "Funeral" talked
about dea th and renewal, and 2006's "Neon Bible" dealt with
political and religious issues,
"The Suburbs" shows the band's matur i ty with less pretent ious, but more mature lyrical content
dealing with the inability of
being able to c o m e home . As we grow older, h o m e will
never be the same, no mat ter how much we want to romant ic ize
it. Arcade Fire captures this sen t iment in varied ways o n
their th i rd LP. Though the title "The
Suburbs" may resemble a red
flag to some listeners due to the of ten played
ou t na ture
of art ists r e m i n i s c i n g a b o u t
m u n d a n e suburban life.
Arcade Fire takes their
th i rd ma jo r release to a
level that is nothing shor t
of epic. Songs float on a cloud of hazy
guitar and lavish str ing
a r r a n g e m e n t s that give the
relatable lyrics an a tmosphere of
emot ional intensity. The a lbum starts with the catchy title track (and first single) that includes a
rhythmic piano at its foundat ion , while reverb-drenched guitars
add a dreamy landscape to t he
core of the sound . From the opening chorus ,
the listener is in t roduced to the thought fu l insights of lead
singer Win Butler, who claims that , "Somet imes I can't believe
it, I'm moving past the feeling."
Through lines like this, it becomes apparent that Butler
and the gang want to tell the listener h o w hard it is to re tu rn to a place you once called home .
The main theme of the a lbum references the reality of growing up and leaving h o m e behind,
but the band takes some space to even make a few jokes about
their past in songs like "Rococo." The song is representat ive of a
chamber pop n u m b e r that builds
in intensity until a symphony of strings and harmonies collide
in the final chorus , creat ing a sweeping sound that washes the listener away despite t he
somewhat comical word play. In a similar vein to Vampire
Weekend's "Oxford Comma," the song essentially makes fun of know-it-all suburban kids who use words they can't unders tand,
hence the title "Rococo" (an
elaborate ba roque style of
decorat ion). As the a lbum closes, the
listener gets a break f rom the guitar-heavy sound with
the likely second single "The Sprawl II (Mounta ins Beyond
Mountains)." Instead of guitar, layers of synthesizers move to
the forefront of the mix while the female voice of Regine
Chassagne (wife of Win Butler)
takes the lead singing duties. The mos t striking line comes
in the cho rus of this slow
burn ing yet climactic song when Chassagne sings:
"They heard me singing and they told me to stop, quit these
pre tent ious things and just
punch the clock." With this line. Arcade Fire
truly captures the ambit ions of suburban life being threa tened
by the seemingly practical lifestyle of blue-collar industry.
Throughout the a lbum. Arcade Fire covers a lot o
g round by including a sprawling 16 tracks, yet the way the songs
flow show that the band has a knack for put t ing together a cohesive a lbum in an age where iTunes singles are the dominan t
The phrase"hi t the ground running" has taken on a new meaning for me this first week of classes. In my previous se-mesters at Hope, the process has been a gentle easing into the pool of busy in which we seem to reside. On the first day of class, it's dipping a toe in, then sitting with my legs dangling in, before sliding down all the way by the second week of class. Not so this year. I didn't just jump off the high diving board for a cannonball; I took a running start first.
I will admit though, that I love be-ing busy—it's the environment in which 1 do the best. However, this year the madness of my schedule is tinted by a long shadow cast by a large clock: one that counts down my time at Hope Col-
lege as a student. In high school being a senior was
the equivalent of being invincible. Four years ago the class of 2007 ruled with an iron fist. Well, maybe that's a gross ex-aggeration, but it certainly was a good feeling. We'd worked hard for 12 years to be on top and we were going to savor it. Being a senior meant getting to spray paint obscene gestures on the football field, saran wrap freshmen to poles and go on week-long trips that served no real academic purpose. We also had the anticipation of college—moving on to something bigger and better—looming
on the horizon. In some ways I miss being a high
school senior. Because now people have started asking, "What are your plans post-grad?" and other such questions. Some of us know exactly where we'll be and what we'll be doing, but I'm guess-ing that most seniors are in a place simi-lar to my own. I know what I want to do and know where I'd like to go, but I'm
not necessarily sure how to get there. Being in the oldest class on campus
is a strange feeling. This whole week I kept walking around waiting to run into friends from the classes of 2009 and 2010. To suddenly see more people that I don't recognize than people I do is a bit disconcerting. Nonetheless, it's an exciting time and I do have to ad-mit that as nervous as 1 am to leave the comfort of being a student, I have fun
thinking about what comes next. The class of 2011 has had a crazy
ride—we survived a norovirus plague that saw the entire campus shut down; we were prompted to confront and dis-cuss big issues of equality, homosexu-ality and religion as Hope is Ready be-gan; and we rallied together and held one another up through the loss of two friends and classmates. We've seen some of the most successful sports sea-sons the school has ever had. Our class has seen a Hope theater production get invited to perform in Washington D.C. and helped further the development of an already outstanding performing arts
program. And we still have eight months to
go-Freshmen year our orientation
theme was "Let the Journey Begin," and while moving on f rom a good thing can be difficult, I'm excited for this final .journey at Hope. We're walking into a world with a lot of variables up in the air, but we're not the first to go through this experience and we won't be the last. For now, that is enough for me. Worry-ing about "the real world" can wait until
May. Karen would like to move to Europe
after Hope. Who wants to join me?!
Charl ie Walter Columnist
MTWF WTF?
So I skipped my first class of the se-mester, as in, Tuesday at 11 a.m.—the first class on my schedule. Fall semester, senior year. This is the end, and I skipped the beginning of it.
1 woke up that morning on my usual bed of hardwood floor and tiny rug and thin blanket in my house out on 20th Street. A little sorer than usual, a bit more ornery. It had been, after all, my third straight night of falling asleep to Planet Earth six minutes into an episode. (Will I ever make it through Shallow Seas?)
As I biked into Hope, my borrowed bike chafing me the entire mile and a half, 1 thought to myself, "I really don't feel like
going to Japanese I today." I parked my borrowed crotch-rocket
heap at Lemonjello's and walked inside, immediately lifted in spirit by the smell of coffee. 1 sat down with a one-third cup of Organic Mind, Body, Soul; I love the one-third. Three refills, and the coffee always stays hot. I opened my Bible to Job. As I read the beautiful, poetic lines, soaking in the imagery of the uncontainable Le-viathan and the ostrich mother that cares nothing for its babies (Job 39), I took a
long hard look at my life. Do I want to start a whole new lan-
guage three years after I finished my lan-
guage requirements? Do I really want to do partner exer-
cises where I ask the person to my right, "How are you doing?" and they respond, "Not bad. And you? How are you doing on this day?" (As if this is the way people
converse!) Most importantly, though, I said to
myself, "Charlie. Do you really want to go into class four times a week?" Japanese I, MTWF. What is this, freshman year?
As a fresh, I did not know the wide-open country of T / R ' classes. Or ' W ' class. Or T , every other week.'
But now it's senior year, in which I am giving the cold shoulder to anything with a M{T)WF on it. With the last minute shuffling of Japanese 101 out of the way, I am now living a two-day class week and a
four-day weekend. To the freshmen, don't feel bad—
there's just not that much you can do to avoid the three- or four- day- a- week classes. Dropping the pre-med may be the first step;c'mon, be a leader, be the first. Half of you are going to drop it anyways. To the seniors, if for some deity-forsaken reason you are still showing up to class four days a week, check yourself.
You could cut that commitment in half or even by 75 percent by taking a lengthy, three-hour night class (that will, most likely, end up containing a well-deserved
potluck snack-time). Like the Leviathan of Job, I must be
uncontained, unraveled. Like the ostrich mother, I must avoid taking on too much responsibility, for fear of shredding my
own young. Meaning, go light on the class load.
Sip some coffee. Watch that huge, black Newfoundland bear-of-a-dog lumber on
by. Senior year: 1 Freshman year: 0
Charlie would like to add that Tuesday Tidings were the most intimidating emails ever. And also, one giant "sumimasen" to Prof. Nakajima. It's not you; it's me!
Dryer sheets
Kaili D o u d Columnist
Just grand! Yours?
Well, folks, it's that time again for every-one to seemingly care what you did for the two and a half months they didn't see you.
That's right. It's t ime for everyone to ask you how your summer was.
Now, I cannot assume that the ques-tion is entirely empty for everyone: cer-tainly there are many who genuinely take interest in the warm-weathered affairs of, well, every single person they walk past en route to class. But the truth is, most probably don't.
1 really don't mean to be cynical. How-ever, I do often find myself improvising a
host of extraordinary accomplishments each time someone pops the question.
"Oh my goodness! Hi! How was your
summer?!" "Oh, pretty great, pretty great. I do-
mesticated a herd of wild stallions and figured out exactly what I'm going to do with my life...but that was just July. How
about you?" You see my point. Generally, a truthful
answer to, "How was your summer?" en-tails reliving flashes of monotonous work and the occasional, "I went to visit cousins in Atlanta." And no one wants to do that.
right? Many people spend their summers laying out on the beach, but I would imag-ine that most of us were likely to have sat behind a counter taking crumpled dollar bills in exchange for ice cream. Or, work-ing at summer camps and having a great time.. .but that's a different story.
Forgive me for generalizing. I'm sure many of us really did have great summers and are eager to talk about them. My problem is that I had a great summer but I'm really not eager to talk about it at all...
• see Dryer Sheets, page 9
A N C H O R
K a r e n P a t t e r s o n Co-EniioR-i\-Cniif
J a m e s N i c h o l s CO-EDITOR-IS-CHIEF
A n n M a l o n e PHODIKTIOS MWAGER
L i n d s e y B a n d y Cxurus NEWS EDITOR
M a d a l y n M u n c y ASST. C wmis NEI\S EDITOR
A f t a n S n y d e r NITIOWI NE\I* CO-EDHOR
M a t t Lee NITIOS.U NEWS CO-EDITOR
Kat ie S c h e w e ARTS CO-EDITOR
Cai t l in Klask ARTS CO-EDITOR
M a g g i e A l m d a l e VOICES EDITOR
2 0 1 0 F A L L SE ME ST E R STAFF
J o h n R e b h a n FUTURES CO-EDITOR Emily D a m m e r GRVHILS CO-EDITOR
Alyssa B a r i g i a n FIMIRES Co-EDITOR L y n d s e y V a n d e r v e l d GRVHKS CO-EDITOR
B e t h a n y S t r i p p SPORTS EDITOR B r i t t a n y L a p h a m ASST. CRMMS EDITOR
C h r i s R u s s ASST. SPORTS EDITOR She lby W y a n t ADS MWICER
K a t h y N a t h a n STWADVISOR M i k e C o n n e l l y BUSISESS MAXKER
H o l l y E v e n h o u s e PHOTO EDITOR
• L indsey Wol f Cot) EDITOR
AnnelLse B e l m o n t e ASST. Con EDITOR
Raina K h a t r i ASST. COPY EDITOR
A m a n d a Karby Con EDITOR
S E P T E M B E R 8 , 2 0 1 0 VOICES T H E A N C H O R 9
More than tweed
i W e ' r e a s k i n g p r o f e s s o r s : What's one thing that 99 percent of the student body would never guess you'd pursue?
Professor Andrew Le of the Music Dept. responded...
years ago, I took my first class here at Hope: Introduction to Photog-raphy. I failed it. My professor, Steve Nelson, was gracious enough to allow a fellow professor a spot in this popular class, which I attended religiously for about...a month.
Things got busy. 1 had performances to prepare for, emails
to catch up on, and committee meetings to attend. All things I couldn't skip. I submitted two or three photographs for his viewing pleasure (wrath?), after which I was MIA. Really, I do not recommend this sort of behavior to my students, but after recovering from the initial shame of my epic failure, I decided I would make the most of things.
Steve taught me more in one day than teachers from other institutions would've taught in an entire semester, so I took what 1 could remember in my four weeks of photographic education and put my camera to work, with the intense de-termination to make myself a better photographer. Music is unbelievably great—my life's profession is making and teach-ing music, after all—but sometimes I find the photographic medium more appropriate and powerful for expressing certain things. There's color and texture in music, but not everyone is able to see and feel it in music as they are in a
photograph. Last year, I committed myself to a 365 Project: to take one
photograph a day, every day for a year, with the intention of trying new techniques and bettering myself as a photogra-pher. As of writing this, I am on my 340th day, which means I will soon be finished. This journey (which is more ardu-ous than it sounds; try practicing piano every single day for a year! Even I don't do that...) has taken me to complete-ly unexpected territory, and although I remain far (far far far) f rom finding my style or "voice" in photographic arts, I have learned what comes easily and what I need to continue working at. That is one of the gifts of life, after all: to keep
learning. I am still trying, and will always be trying, to find ways
to coax smiles from strangers looking into the lens of my camera; to cultivate patience in working with bridezillas; to better understand my camera's histogram; to calculate in my mind the perfect exposure settings. Which is why, at the conclusion of this project, I will begin a new one.
Intro to photography was my first class at Hope. My sec-ond class was beginning jazz piano, with Professor Steve Ta-laga. I was doing ok with Steve number two, actually, and in fact lasted longer than I did in photography. Things, howev-er, inevitably got busy again (I completed my doctoral disser-tation that semester), and I ended up skipping my final jury (with Steve's permission). Again: I certainly don't advocate
this sort of academic behavior. However, I do most certainly encourage all of my students
to keep learning and trying new things. Life is too short to not at least try to enjoy its vast range of rich offerings. Per-haps one day, I will enroll in a third class at Hope, and maybe even pass it this time. After all, they say that the third time's the charm.
Andrew Le's photographic work, including his 365 Proj-ect, can be found online at http://imagery.drewle.com, and he himself can be found right here on campus in the Nykerk Building where he teaches piano, piano literature, keyboard skills and chamber music.
Returning from, what was it? Hope students be 'real' about the transition back to school
From the inside out I dream of Geme Jordan
I dreamt about Jordan last night (the country, not a person). Actually, the place in my dreams was a strange mix between Jordan and S c o t l a n d -two places I've lived in that could not be more dif-ferent. 1 was hiking through Petra and came to the end of a path, leading through a crevasse between two high walls of red stone. Beyond the crevasse the path opened up and spread into a large fertile plain. Its vegetation generally mimicked that of the Middle East—a soft green yet faded slightly, as if it had been left in the sun too long or as if I was viewing it through shimmering heat that distorted the colors. Other places though looked distinctly Scottish—that full, unrestrained green that only comes through exposure to damp mists. There was even a small stone building completely cov-ered in vines. I remember gesturing to a compan-ion, "Look, look! There is Scotland!"
I still struggle with trying to reconcile my abroad experiences. I struggle even more when I try to verbalize them in a short period of time. Usually the conversation goes something like this:
"Aftan, good to see you again!" "Yeah, it's been a long time!" "How are you? How was your year?" "My year was...good. Life-changing." And that's how I summarize my year abroad.
Anyone who has studied off Hope's campus can relate—how in the blazes are we to pack an entire experience and its memories into one short, ac-ceptable sentence? Well, we can't. So we somehow slide back into our Hope College lives and walk around somewhat changed, hopefully changed for the better. And things around us have changed too, and sometimes we don't know whether for
better or for worse. This is my first year on staff for The Anchor, so I
had to return to Hope a week earlier than usual. I appreciated the rather empty campus—it gave me a
Aftan Snyder National Co-Editor
chance to rediscover the details that faded in the hot sands of Jordan and misty green of Scotland. The necessity of my student ID (and its pass-code), locating the door of a particular stairwell, where to deposit my lunch tray in the Kletz—these things came back in colorful bursts of realization and a certain amount of embarrassment (especially as I circled aimlessly in the Kletz before the timely res-cue of a friend's pity). In many ways I felt like a
freshman. Ahem, I'm a senior. At the end of this year I
face graduation and the job field. I don't yet have a "plan," but I'm not concerned. I remember being a freshman and not knowing what to do with this next step of life, with all its possible majors, all its organizations and clubs, all its opportunities. Now I'm in the same position again, but after my time abroad I think I have a good handle on the whole I-don't-have-plan-but-I'll-enjoy-life-anyway mental-ity. What's more, I now have the ability to create new plans and flex when those change.
This column did not turn out like I planned. I originally wanted to share specifics about my year abroad, about Scotland and Jordan but mostly Jor-dan. But I've discovered that while a quick sen-tence given en route to Chapel is not enough to sum it up, neither is a 500-word column in the stu-dent newspaper. I want to be real, to truly share my experience. So if you want to hear it, let's go grab coffee for an hour or two. Or you go find that friend who just returned from a summer, from abroad, f rom another city. Listen to them, to their story. And then let us listen to yours.
Aftan enjoys seeing her Hope family again and playing Frisbee in the Pine Grove. And dark choco-late. She likes dark chocolate.
Dryer Sheets • K a l l i DoucTs c o l u m n , f rom page 8
all...so I come up with other things to say. "Your summer was good? Cool. So was mine.
So how about those new sandwiches they have in
Phelps?" In my opinion, summer is in the past, and there
isn't much use in creating small talk of it. So why not talk about exciting new things in the present? Be-cause those sandwiches really are pretty delicious. And you can even tack on a recommendation to that
chat. "I would definitely recommend those sandwiches."
See? It's easy, and now you have something to talk
about next time! I can only hope that the initial question-pop-
ping stage will be over by the middle of September. By then, asking about someone's summer will just be irrelevant and odd. Also by then, we will all be-
come nostalgic again for summer, and will actually want to talk about what happened to us in July. Sub-sequently, everyone will resort to carrying around their summer-experience paraphernalia in order to spark conversations that will probably only last three minutes. Already I am guilty of toting around my Yellowstone Staff Nalgene* and positioning it so the label faces outward.
Until then, we will suffer through the inconse-
quence of easy small talk. So: How was your summer?
Kaili is worried that, now, everyone will think she is being sarcastic when she asks about summer. She promises that, if she asks, she cares. Also, she did not tame wild stallions this summer, and she still has ab-solutely no idea what to do with her life.
So you've heard their voice, now let's hear yours:
Share your opinion, and wr i te a let ter to the editors!
The focus is no longer simply on teaching students to write a cookie-cutter essay, but rather on depar tments helping their stu-dents learn to write well within their respective majors. "We have a responsibility, especially to our juniors and seniors, to prepare them for graduate school or careers so they are confident in their post-
college years," Klooster said. Peer tutors are currently available 2 p.m. until 5 p.m. Monday
through Thursday and 7 p.m. until 10 p.m. Sunday though Thursday. To make an appointment at the Writing Corner, you can call the English Department at x. 7620, email [email protected], or schedule an appointment through your Google calendar.
ORIENTATION 2 0 1 0 — The class of 2014 (center) Is now sett led In thanks to hundreds of or ientat ion assistants who helped them move In (center right) and provided entertain-ment (top and bottom right). The Play Fair (top and bottom left) was also a great way for freshmen to meet new people.
i — i i -
NEWS SEPTEMBER 8 . 2 0 1 0
Revisiting Orientation Looking back on the fun times of Orientation 2010
Convocation speaker: Make the most of college years Courtesy of Hope College PR
With the members of the incoming Class of 2014 at Hope College at the beginning of their college experience, speaker Dr. Sonja Trent-Brown suggested ways to make the most of the learning opportunit ies ahead.
Trent-Brown, an assistant professor of psychology, presented the address "A Multi- ' tude' of Opportuni ty" during the college's Opening Convocation on Sunday, Aug. 29, in the Richard and Helen DeVos Fieldhouse.
Approximately 2,000, primarily new students and their families, at tended the event, which marked the formal beginning of the college's 149th
academic year. The new students moved in on
Aug. 27 and returning students moved in Aug. 29. Fall semester classes started on Aug. 31.
Trent-Brown included the colloquial short form of the word "attitude" in the title of her address to emphasize that
how the students approach their education will play a key role in what they gain f rom it. She suggested that they adopt a •multitude of H 'tudes" in pursuing the multiple lessons that their years at Hope will offer.
First, she encouraged the students to embrace the way that the college's "multi-disciplinary" liberal arts education can give them additional perspectives with which to understand the world and make a difference in
it. "As we better comprehend
the world in which we l i v e -its intricacies, nuances and subtleties—we are better prepared to meet its needs, to battle its ills, and to uplift its joys; making informed contributions and providing effective service," she said.
Next, Trent-Brown said that they should also take full advantage of Hope's "multicontextual focus," or emphasis on educating the whole person.
"At Hope we identify three primary contexts within which we want students to grow—the academic, the co-curricular and the spiritual," she said. "Hope strives to be a place where the integration across these multiple contexts forges interconnections that produce more substantial learning outcomes for s tudents than could any of the single contexts alone."
Third, she noted that the students should be open to the different styles of learning, or "multidirectional pedagogy," that they would encounter, f rom traditional classroom teaching, to hands-on laboratory sessions, to field placements, service-learning projects and more.
"First, it encourages us to be open to learning in ways that may be very different f rom what we have been accustomed to, because, you know, it may turn out that it works for you," she said. "Second, our 'multi-' tude' encourages us to jump right in with full willingness
to participate. If we only give something a weak, half-attempt, we're already putting ourselves at a disadvantage for reaping maximum benefit f rom the
experience." Fourth, she encouraged them
to be open to the many prospects that the college will offer for "multicultural encounter," f rom on-campus coursework to domestic or overseas off-campus study to learning f rom others at Hope who are f rom different races and traditions.
"We've heard about the necessities of globalization and being able to participate effectively in the changing world, in effect, becoming adept global citizens. So, yes, this will be important for your careers, but more importantly, for your lives" she said. "Our 'multi-'tude' here encourages openness, hospitality, patience, honesty, humility and compassion.
It also undergirds courage—it can be scary moving outside your comfort zone, making 'first
contact,' not knowing what you might find and how it might change your life... change you."
Trent-Brown also asked the students to pursue the multiple attitudes in a unified way, "thoughtful, intentional and prayerful in discerning amongst
the choices." She reflected on the way
that the Christian faith informs learning at Hope and cited PhUippians 2:1-11, in which Paul calls for his readers to follow Christ 's example and act in faith and humility, and with regard
for others. "It has been said that 'it is
your attitude... that determines your altitude,' meaning that you can achieve new heights in your life if you are intentional about your attitude," she said. "Class of 2014, there is no limit to the heights you might achieve sharing the attitude of Christ, and a 'multi- ' tude approach to your education, you just have to