Tuesday, November 06, 2007
Feature article idea
my idea for my features article, which is to interview Prof. Howard from the History department about his close experience with Islam, is spawning from a conversation I already had with him over the summer. I wanted to have a conversation with him because I was wanting to get his thoughts on whether or not pious people from other religions (namely Islam and Judism) are saved by God. His thoughts tended more towards the idea that yes, these people are saved by God. The idea that people are damned to hell who lived out their lives seeking God but never found Christ, perhaps because they never so much as heard his name, is troublesome for me. Thus, I don’t really know which direction this article is heading because I have not interviewed him again yet, but it seems to me that this topic has a deeply religious tendency. Perhaps I should be scared. who knows.
-Matt Decker
Sunday, November 04, 2007
Study Science, Stay Home
With interim just around the corner, Calvin students are rushing to submit health forms, course applications, and passport requests.
Many Engineering, Pre-med, and science majors are especially anxious to line up their travel plans, as interim is the only chance they have to go abroad during their years at Calvin.
Calvin is recognized as an institution of excellence in international affairs by NAFSA: Association of International Educators and is just one of four US colleges and universities to be honored with a Paul Simon Award for Campus Internationalization for 2007.
Though Calvin offers a wide variety of off-campus programs--11 through Calvin and several through other colleges --the department is lacking a semester specifically designed for science and engineering majors.
Ellen Monsma, director of the Off-Campus Programs office and member of the Interim Committee, hopes that soon the department will be able to provide programs for the needs of students it is not currently serving.
Though many engineering and science majors will spend the interim in Germany, Cambodia, Ecuador, or China studying major-specific topics in different global situations, these whirlwind tours only graze the surface of the cultural context.
Monsma sees the value of both interim and semester studies, but she concedes that a semester experience is much deeper and broader than an interim excursion. Semester programs allow students to spend time in another culture, not just as tourists, but as residents.
Monsma said, “At Calvin, you’re with a lot of people just like you,” but spending a semester abroad often challenges students to see the world in new ways, to be “more conscious Christians.”
Calvin’s mission statement includes a pledge to be “agents of renewal” in all parts of creation and to be faithful in “offering our hearts and lives to do God’s work in God’s world.” But Monsma said that in order to renew the world, “you have to know it!”
Friday, November 02, 2007
Knights 4 Life - again
This was the final copy of my article. the first blog was just a beginning.
The Student Alumni Association, better known as Knights 4 Life, is getting its year started off right with yet another successful sophomore dinner.
The dinner took place on October 18, in which over 500 people attended. “The Knights 4 Life dinner is to remind students that they are now considered alumni and we want to thank them for coming to Calvin College,” said Norm Zylstra the coordinator of Student and Young Alumni Programs, “We want to make students feel comfortable by building a sense of home.”
The dinner is set in more of a “party” atmosphere, welcoming all sophomores and other campus organizations to have a good time and enjoy a meal together. “It is a big event because the entire alumni board is there, the cokes and clubs organizations are there to promote student organizations and most of the sophomore class shows,” said Zylstra.
“There was better food and it was a better atmosphere than usual,” said sophomore Leah VanSchouwen, responding to the dinner.
The dining services prepare a special meal of almost all the students’ favorites; including circle pizzas, French fries and an ice cream bar complete with a variety of toppings. There are also give-aways of canvas chairs, two liters of Pepsi, the Prism and K4L t-shirts. “The atmosphere was definitely welcoming. I liked how they came around with prizes instead of making people come to the front,” said VanSchouwen.
Sophomore Kelli Visser agreed saying that “at times it seemed kind of over the top but it was a lot of fun.
“The Alumni Office sponsored the t-shirts and the Alumni and Student Life offices split the cost of the Prism so that sophomores were able to receive these for free,” said Zylstra. It is very important for these organizations to give the students these gifts because as Zylstra said, “[they] want people to keep remembering their experiences at Calvin.”
Besides all the prizes and games, the sophomore night is set up for fellowship among class members. “I took this position so I would be able to have a mutual relationship with the college, and through these events it allows a multitude of campus committees and leaders, along with students, to get involved,” said Zylstra.
The Knights 4 Life has many other events planned for the rest of the year, including events for other classes. Keep your eyes open for upcoming events or refer to the Knights 4 Life postcard which students should have received in the mail.
KE hosts Light in the Night for local kids
For the thirteenth time on the thirty-first of October, families of the community and KE residents gathered at Knollcrest East to celebrate Halloween through safe trick-or-treating, fun, and fellowship.
Through KE’s annual program “Light in the Night”, hundreds of children—ranging in age, ethnicity, and creativity in costume—joyfully trampled through the hallways of KE on a rainy night, imagining for a few moments they were in a fairy tale, Neverland, a barnyard, or the ocean with Nemo. Andrea Timmerman, Community Life Coordinator of KE, says that “Light in the Night is a great opportunity to reach out with a welcoming hand to our community.”
Resonating with that goal, Zeta’s RA Kwabena Bediako stated that “it’s a chance for the families to get together. We’re showing the community that KE is here and we’re open.”
Matt Sowash, a member of the Programming Activities Council, also shared his thoughts on the immense preparation and creativity the residents of KE shared to provide a safe space for people from the community, saying, “It’s great to see the apartment doors being decorated and watching residents coordinate their plans with others! There has been a buzz among students working to get the building decorated. The amount of people taking time out of their busy schedules and helping is just fantastic!”
The excitement is shared at both ends. As a lifelong resident of Grand Rapids, Kimmy DeVries looks back on her annual trick-or-treating experience, saying, “I remember coming here as a kid to trick-or-treat; it was super fun! I was awestruck with all those college kids living on their own. It’s cool to be on the other side passing out the candy, remembering how much fun I had.” The effect Light in the Night has on the residents was also described by Theta’s RA, Abby Skeans, who said, “It was a lot of work, but a big payoff. We’re reaching a lot of kids at one time; it’s really impactful to me.”
Families of the community were grateful for the opportunity, as described by George Jeffries, a staff member of Inner City Christian Federation (ICCF), a Grand Rapids based nonprofit housing corporation. Jeffries stated that the families attending were so excited to be trick-or-treating at KE on Wednesday night, simply adding, “they may not have otherwise had an opportunity to go out and do this.” He also described his desire to continue cooperating with Calvin College students in order to carry on the various programs they have shared in years past.
Yet there is an even deeper purpose beyond the goal of providing a safe space for community families to trick-or-treat. Timmerman says that the title, and purpose, of the program emerged from John 8:12: “I am the Light of the World. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life.” Timmerman says that on Halloween, KE lit up the night “with hundreds of candles, [doing] our best to represent Christ as we open[ed] our doors.”
Thursday, November 01, 2007
One Parking lot Unaffected
Students parking in Kalsbeek-Huizenga’s lot this year aren’t experiencing crowding similar to that of the rest of Calvin’s campus.
In a year that has seen significant parking issues as a result of the high concentration of cars from construction, KH’s parking lot is unaffected, according to some freshman on campus.
As someone who used the lot for the last 2 years, I asked my brother and freshman, Shawn Tindall, to explain how bad the parking now must be.
“It’s not really an issue, actually,” he responded. “I can always find a spot, and at the maximum it’s probably only filled about 80 percent most of the time.”
This is the same concentration I found last year in KH. Sophomore Andy Solorio feels the same way, however.
“No one really seems to have any problems finding a spot; it’s just a long walk most of the time,” he stated.
When asked why the lot’s capacity seems to be unchanged, Tindall responded with a common sense answer that put me in my place.
“Well, its not like the construction added more students or anything,” said Tindall.
So then, there is more of a lack of problems in KH than there are problems.
“I think one thing they could do to improve, if anything, would have to do with the motorcycles. Every time that I think I’ve found a good place, there ends up being a bike that I don’t see until the last second,” complained the freshman.
Calvin is very focused on construction, and no plans have yet been made to have a designated motorcycle/moped parking.
While it was thought by some that the construction vehicles, workers vehicles and other transportation would use KH, this has been found to not affect Kalsbeek-Huizenga’s parking lot at Calvin College.