6 reasons to actually move to Florida
Sports Orlando Magic, Tampa Bay Lightning, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Miami Dolphins, Orlando City SC, Miami Marlins, Tampa Bay Rays, Jacksonville Jaguars … The list could go on. And, since I’m writing this, I’ll add that the Washington Nationals’ (who won the World Series in 2019, no big deal) spring training camp is in West Palm Beach, so that’s a plus!
The Clocktower 3 Outlook 4 Sports 5 Adventist News 6 Travel 11 Technology 12 Pop Culture 13 Faculty & Staff 14 Giveaway TURN THE PAGE The official COLLEGEUNION newspaper November 17, 2021 Issue 9, Volume 96 7 Explore Nebraska 8 Lincoln News 9 Politics 10 Comedy
Even for people who aren’t avid sports
Sincerely meant from the bottom of a reluctant Floridian’s heart I moved to the Sunshine State when I was nine. I won’t lie, Florida and I have had a complicated relationship and, almost 13 years later, not much about the humidity, flatness and the Florida man have grown on me. Whenever people ask where I want to move when I graduate, my reply is, “Anywhere but Florida.” I don’t want to jinx myself, but if it’s years before my license plate has oranges on it again, I wouldn’t be mad about it. That being said, the other day, I ran across an article from Business Insider titled, “6 reasons not to move to Florida, according to a Floridian.” Even I, someone who has NEVER called themselves a Floridian until this article’s subhead, think the state needs a break from the hate. So, if the stars align and I truly move somewhere new this summer, I at least owe Florida this much on the way out. Theme Parks Walt Disney World, Universal Studios, SeaWorld, LegoLand, Gatorland, Busch Gardens…See?If the Happiest Place on Earth is literally in Florida, then Florida must also radiate some joy! Logic.
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fans, attending games is still fun! Seriously, who doesn’t like watching a hockey fight? No one. Food I love to go out to eat. I live in Orlando, so this section might be bias for Central Florida, but the restaurants are top notch. My personal favorites are Kohinoor, a hole-inthe-wall Indian place in Longwood and Chuuy’s, a TexMex spot in Winter Park. If you’re ever in the area, I highly recommend both! Adventist Mecca A faith community is important and being around people who praise God in the same way as you helps round out a life. So, if that’s something you’re looking for, there’s lots of churches and Adventist-associated jobs that make the heat more bearable. Beaches
Editor–in–Chief Juliet Bromme Assistant Editor Hannah Drewieck Layout Editor Chrisheline Kalawo Assistant Layout Editor Justin Anderson Lead Photographer Joseph Lee Assistant Photographer Jacob Sanchez Distributor Jordan Judge Web Manager Diana Celaya EditorNEWS Maria Kercher Adventist News Sophia Jaquez Lincoln News TJ Pittenger Technology Charles Metz EditorENTERTAINMENT Annika Cambigue Sports Evan Majors Pop Culture Annelise Jacobs Lincoln Spotlight Kelina Rodgers Comedy Caleb Schaber EditorLIFESTYLE Lacey Stecker Outlook Hannah Olin Politics Aubrey Benton Travel Sierra Lastine
So, if you’re one of those people out there yearning for the adrenaline rush that only coming face-to-face with a bear in your garage can give, then Florida is calling your name. As long as you stay away from the panhandle, everything will be fine. In all honesty, my move to Orlando shaped my life in a lot of ways, and I’m thankful for each experience it spurred. Cheers, Florida, I’ll miss you. But only a little bit.
Daytona, New Smyrna, Cocoa, Destin, Sanibel Island, Palm, Fort Lauderdale…
Juliet Bromme is a senior communication major from Longwood, Fla.
No State Income Tax
It was only a matter of time before I got to this one. I personally don’t love sharks, so that’s obviously a problem, but the odds of encountering one is fairly low. Or so they say. Either way, everyone loves a good beach day once in a while (except my mom).
There are some major economic benefits to moving to Florida and not having to pay state income taxes is one of them. This is especially an upside for college graduates who can only afford so much when starting out.
Would Thanksgiving ever steal anything from Christmas, or any other holiday for that matter? No! All Thanksgiving wants is to bring people together over tons of food and let them eat until they can’t move and then give them the excuse to do absolutely nothing for the rest of the day. It humbly kicks off the holiday season and then steps back and lets Christmas have center stage. But is Christmas content with that? Obviously not. Anyway, I digress. The holiday season is an exciting time and I am looking forward to all It’s not Christmas yet! that it brings, and I plan to celebrate each one accordingly in their proper order. P.S. If you get a minute, check out the song, “The Day After Thanksgiving” by Brandon Heath. It pretty much sums it all up. Hannah Olin is a sophomore history education major from Princeton, Ill.
Don’t get me wrong, all these things are great! I love them as much as the next person. As soon as the Thanksgiving dinner is over, I am all over the holiday. But Christmas needs to learn to stay in its lane. It has been pushing the boundaries for a while now, and, in my opinion, it is getting too cocky. Christmas has the whole month of December. It doesn’t need to steal anything from Thanksgiving. Now, I realize that my strong feelings on this subject probably comes from the fact that Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. I am actually a little obsessed with it. I love Christmas, but Thanksgiving is the holiday I really get excited about. The food, family, friends, football, all of it! It’s such a great holiday, yet it gets lost in all the hurriedness to get up the lights, blow-up the red-nosed reindeers and put out the plastic snowmen.
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©Joseph Lee
Stay in your lane Y es, I may as well admit it right now, I am one of those. I don’t do Christmas before Thanksgiving! As a result, November 1 is my worst nightmare. It seems as if every store, restaurant, radio station or whatever has a giant switch that they flip on the stroke of midnight on October 31, changes everything overnight into a winter wonderland. You gotta hand it to them, it is quite a feat to swap everything that quickly. However, there are still some of us, namely me, who are still trying to drink their apple cider all while being bombarded with Deck the Halls, giant snowmen and bright twinkling lights everywhere they look.
What was different?
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Boulais Courage Award was Anna Lopez from Highland View Academy in Hagerstown, Maryland.Looking ahead, Union hopes to host an in-person Acrofest next year from Nov. 10-12, 2022. Until then, enjoy this year’s event from your phone or laptop. Good job to all those who participated this year, and let’s keep our fingers crossed that we can have a normal Acrofest next year. Evan Majors is a freshman business administration major from Winston Salem, N.C.
A nother exciting sports event has passed, and that was Acrofest. What has set this year apart from the usual Acrofest is this one was 100% virtual. Union could not host an in-person Acrofest as there are growing concerns about COVID-19, which is a good thing considering the 20+ current cases on campus. How did this work, you may ask? Well, every team from across the country performed their routines from their own gym and these performances were broadcast for every viewer across the country to enjoy. Each team’s coach recorded their routines with music and submitted it to Union. This year’s theme was “Walk Through Fire.” There was originally going to be a handstand competition, but due to a lack of entries, it was unfortunately cancelled. Like it or not, this was the best way to guarantee every team’s collective safety and wellbeing as COVID-19 cases in Lincoln continue to rage on. Another happening at this event was dedicated to gymnast Heather Boulais. Boulais was a gymnast at Union College when, in 2015, she took a 23-foot fall during a practice routine and suffered traumatic brain and skull injuries and went into a medicallyinduced coma. Following her injuries, she was forced to relearn nearly everything, including how to walk and how to talk. Eventually in 2017, with the help of her mother and sister, she was able to perform a routine for the first time in two years. Boulais was the first recipient of the award named after her. The Heather Boulais Courage Award is given to a gymnast who shows courage inside and outside the gym. Coaches selected their nominees and five Adventist universities (Andrews University, Union College, Southern Adventist University, Washington Adventist University and Southwestern Adventist University) selected a winner. The recipient of the 2021 Heather
Acrofest, stylesocial-distancingbut
Sophia Jaquez is a sophomore theology major from Lincoln, Neb.
Jesus uses Union alumni in Lincoln
employees, a much needed item they were unable to afford elsewhere, peace of mind and spirit aided by the soothing hymns and of course, prayer whenever needed.
Betterways Thrift makes impact in community
W hen Shelley Jaquez was studying at Union College, she thought she knew her calling. After graduation, she would climb the corporate ladder to become an important CEO for a Fortune 500 company and donate a lot of money to God and His work. At age 53 however, she has found herself in a completely different and totally unexpected mission field three miles from Union – the place her journey began.
One story that stands out revolves around a 25 year old homeless man that wandered into Betterways one day. He needed a place to be, so he sat in the book section for about an hour and a half. Jaquez, not realizing he was homeless, encouraged him to read a while and hopefully find a book to buy. When he approached the register, he held in his hand a leather Bible. Sadly, the man pulled out $1.47 and offered it as all he had. It was then she began to realize the state of his financial situation. Jaquez gave him the Bible for free, telling him that it would change his life. “Seeing the look in his eyes,” she said, “I knew that it already had.”
Betterways Thrift is a supporting industry created to fund a Christian nature school called Skyview Learning Academy. Both were founded and are owned by Michelle Ray, a friend of Jaquez’s. Skyview is located on the outskirts of Lincoln and fosters an environment of Christ-centered learning for over 100 PreK-12 students. The store was opened mainly to fund the growing school and is maintained by many volunteers. Shelley Jaquez began managing the store in 2018, shortly after her youngest child entered sixth grade. Although it seems unlikely that a solitary retail could create ripples of grace in a preoccupied, uncaring community, God is good and He has made Betterways Thrift a spiritual oasis in a world of chaos.
The store begins each morning with a prayer session with all the volunteers that are working that day. They currently have 26 rotating volunteers that weekly bless their doors with gracious smiles and hardworking spirits. Piano hymns play over the store speakers as each volunteer goes about their duties, assuring that the atmosphere and overall cleanliness of the store are an unspoken testimony to the glory of God. Jaquez said, “For whatever reason, shoppers come in to find cheap deals but always end up leaving with ‘spiritual treasure’ instead.” These treasures often include a piece of spiritual literature donated by local Adventists, deep conversations with
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Betterways represents Christianity as a haven of peace in the mayhem of the retail world. While Jaquez may not have ended up wealthy or donating an abundance of money to charity, she can say that where she is currently makes her feel extremely blessed and spiritually rich. Jaquez said, “As they say, you can’t outgive God. His ways are not our ways, and while my way was to give Him my money, turns out He wanted my time. Even if I do not know my destiny, I do know my calling, and that is to give all that I am and all that I have to God — even in business.”
The folklore of Prague
The Defenestration of Prague
The legend of this supernatural creature begins with the plight of the head Rabbi in Prague, Rabbi Lowe. He contemplates the problem of anti-semitism in the city and wishes that he could protect the Jewish people. Eventually, he decides to mould a tall, strong, humanlike creature, the Golem, from the mud and places a shem (a clay tablet bearing the name of God) into its mouth. At first the Golem did well protecting the Jewish people, but things turned for the worse. On Sabbath, the creature was typically deactivated by removing the shem; one evening, however, he forgot. The next morning the creature tore through the city, wreaking havoc on everything in its way. The Rabbi eventually confronted the creature and deactivated it. It was never brought to life again, but legend has it that the creature’s remains are still in the synagogue to this day waiting to be revived at a time when it is needed. Another interesting fact is that the legend may have inspired Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein.
Catholic counter reformation and, in turn, his Protestant subjects were not a big fan of him. He tried to send messengers ordering that churches not be built on government property (amongst other new laws). The result was that two of the messengers were thrown from a window. They did survive, however. As to how exactly, the story varies. The Catholics claimed that angels guided them down and Protestants said they landed in a pile of manure.
The Thirty Years War occurred between 1618 and 1648 and involved all of the major European countries. The fighting primarily took place in the German states, but the conflict began in Prague when Ferdinand II began ruling. He was a big fan of the
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The gateway to the mystic T he name Prague comes from the Czech word prah meaning threshold or gateway. It is, in part, because of this that the city has been nicknamed the gateway to the mystic. Personally, I find mystical to be a very fitting word. The streets are gorgeous, and the old and new town are the perfect settings for stories. It has been at the center of numerous historical events and the home of many artists and authors. It makes sense that the city should amass a large collection of tall tales. These are some of my favorites that I heard while I was there. Golem
Good King Wenceslas I was surprised to learn that good King Wenceslas was a real person. I was disappointed to learn, though, that the Christmas carol did not originate in Prague.
It was written by an Englishman, John Mason Neale. He compiled a Finish song, Tempus Adest Floridum “The time is near for flowering”, ( originally about spring), with the Czech folktale. The story behind the song says that Saint Wenceslas I, the Duke of Bohemia, was celebrating the feast of Saint Stephen. Beside the warmth of his fireplace, he looked out the window and saw one of his subjects gathering firewood in the cold. Immediately, the king wanted to share the warmth of his home and his meal. He and a servant set out to find the man’s home, trudging through the snow with food and wood. They eventually find the man’s home and share a meal together. Sierra Lastine is a junior English and foreign language major from Grand Junction, Colo.
©Sierra Lastine
After you hike down to the waterfall, you are pretty much free to explore the stream and surrounding area as you wish. While you could just continue along the beaten path, I recommend exploring a bit. As we were exploring, we came to a nice spot that overlooked Platte River where we chose to stop and eat the snacks we had brought. You never know what hidden gems you might find!
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While it might not compare to hiking a 14er, it’s a relaxing nature spot that you might not have expected to find in Nebraska.
Kelina Rodgers is a senior business administration major from Apopka, Fla.
Platte River State Park One of the closest things to a hike in Nebraska M any of us are originally from other states and only call Nebraska home during the school year. It’s easy to joke about how we are surrounded by cornfields, but there is some truth to that statement. One of the most common complaints I hear from those who moved to Nebraska to attend Union is that there is not as much to do outside. There are no nearby mountains to hike or beaches to walk here. As someone who loves outdoor adventures and grew up by the beach, this was a hard adjustment. But, last year, I discovered a state park that offered more than a view of the cornfields.Lastfall, a couple friends and I first ventured down to Platte River State Park, which is only a 40-minute drive from campus. Nestled between Lincoln and Omaha, it’s a great Sabbath afternoon excursion. There are 10 different hiking trails to choose from, but all of them are under half a mile long. Granted, since Nebraska is lacking in elevation change, some of the easier trails should be classified as glorified walks. If you choose the right trail, it will lead you to a couple mini waterfalls. Even though the waterfalls are small, the area is still very picturesque.WhileIdo recommend grabbing a map when you enter the park, one of my favorite
parts is that the trails aren’t very regulated.
Platte River State Park also has campsites and new glamping cabins if you are looking for a longer getaway. They have some sites available on a first-come, first-serve basis, but they also take reservations. For those that plan to just hike for an afternoon, though, the entrance fee to the park is $8 per vehicle.
Astroworld 2021 had a rocky start. Over 100,000 tickets to the festival were sold, but when the gates opened, many people broke into the festival, exceeding the recommended limit of people in the festival grounds.
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Due to the high attendance and a series of druggings that took place during the final set on the first day, a large surge of people moving towards the stage ended the lives of eight festival-goers, sending six more into cardiac arrest and injuring more than 300 others. One of the people to die was 14 years old. Another, Bharti Shahani, died several days later after being hospitalized.
were called for those injured.
Travis Scott, who was performing at the moment of the surge, has taken a lot of heat for his role in the incident. Before his set began, he was informed by Houston police that the festival was beyond capacity and was warned about the potential dangers. During the set, he stopped several times to allow the ambulances to get through the crowd, but still continued performing with high energy. Currently, he is facing over 40 different lawsuits, with family members of those who died holding him responsible. In response, Scott has made several public apologies and has committed to covering costs for the funerals of those that died, as well as the hospital bills for both the mental and physical health of the surviving victims of the stampede. TJ Pittenger is a junior theology major from Gilson, Ill.
The incidentAstroworld
In response to the crisis, the second day of the festival was canceled and ambulances
Nine dead after Astroworld festival
ravis Scott is an artist that has gained much attention recently. In response to his announcement of a new music release on November 5 along with his upcoming festival, his fans went crazy. This led to the deaths of several people at the festival.Astroworld is a music festival that was founded by Travis Scott, based in Houston, Texas. The festival was first launched in 2018 with the release of the corresponding album. The festival was known to be high energy and high octane, and it continued to be held annually, only stopping in 2020 due to COVID-19. This year, it returned.
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Dozens of cases dismissed D uring the summer of 2021, $1.2 million worth of drugs were stolen from a Nebraska State Patrol evidence room. The drugs include over 150 pounds of marajauna, 19 pounds of cocaine, 10 pounds fentanyl, 9 pounds of heroin, 3 pounds of meth and other substances. The absence of the drugs was discovered last month in an routine audit conducted by the Lincoln Police Department. This came after a series of overdoses between July 25 and August 19 that led to the LincolnLancaster County Health Department issuing a Health Alert. During this period of time there were 35 overdoses and 9 deaths caused by fentanyl-laced cocaine. Testing is still being completed to ascertain how many of the overdoses were related to the stolen drugs.
A State Patrol evidence technician, Anna Idigima, and her boyfriend, George Weaver Jr., were arrested and charged for the theft and intent to distribute the drugs. Idigma, who worked for the department for 14 years, was suspended during the investigation and fired in August. Both Idigma and Weaver pled notguilty and their bail has been set at $3 million. They face twenty years in prison under their current federal charges.
The Nebraska State Patrol has announced that there will be a review of the handling of evidence and procedure for storage. They maintain that auditing and evidence storage processes meet the standards set by the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies. Aubrey Benton is a sophomore international relations major from Smithsburg, Md.
Lancaster County identified 116 open cases that needed to be reviewed. Of those, 66 have been closed and 43 more were still under review. If a case involving the missing drugs is still awaiting trial, there is a chance it will be dismissed. Reviews are also taking place in 13 other counties. The amount of information that law enforcement can disclose about cases that are dismissed is highly limited due to protective laws. When charges are dropped by prosecution, courts must seal the cases and criminal justice agencies must respond to public inquiry as if any criminal record did not exist. This law is to insure individuals won’t face discrimination for dismissed cases, but it also makes discering which cases are dropped because of missing evidence difficult.
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$1.2 million worth of drugs stolen from evidencepolice
A meat substitute hunting guide for Adventists on Thanksgiving T he lovely holiday of Thanksgiving is soon approaching and, as a result, Adventists, vegans and vegetarians everywhere are facing the age-old dilemma of finding a proper substitute for that hearty, delicious bird typically served this time of year. Many will sadly go hungry as they are forced to only partake in canned cranberry sauce or green bean casseroles which, as we all know, have as much nutritional value as a fake house plant. Meanwhile, the meat eaters of the world are out hunting and cooking up as much turkey as they can eat without a care in the world as to how those with less diverse palates are fairing. It simply is not fair. This is why I have decided to make a hunting guide for those who find themselves in this boat. You may be asking yourself, “What in the world could a vegetarian possibly hunt for food?” Well, dear reader, the answer is quite simple: meat analogues. Meat analogues are simply meat substitutes made from other products such as nuts, beans, vegetables and apparently pure salt, as is evident by their nutrition labels. These meat substitutes are bountiful in the wild and are just as easy to track and hunt as any turkey or deer. The first place to search for your quarry should be in the sprawling isles of the nearest supermarket. Although the breeding ground for many of these analogue meats are the sunny coasts of Loma Linda, California, they are just as plentiful anywhere you would typically see tofu and other such soy products.Onceyou have scoped out the target of your hunt, you must be stealthy and quick in your actions. Try hiding behind a box of cereal or bag of rice on your approach. Once you are within range, grab the can or box of fake meat in one speedy motion. It will never know what hit it. Once in your possession, you can take the meat substitute home and cook it into any dish you please. Although some fake meats can be consumed raw, it is highly recommended that you cook before consuming, lest you experience something akin to Howeverdysentery.youdecide to acquire your meal for Thanksgiving, I hope you take time to consider what this very special holiday is really all about: eating a boat load of food. Caleb Schaber is a freshman communication major from Lincoln, Neb.
dangerousmost game
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Last year, Americans spent $9 billion on Black Friday, and that number could likely go up this year. It’s also getting more difficult to shop these great deals, since due to the pandemic, stores started their deals much earlier to limit the number of people in their stores. That trend is continuing this year, and many people don’t know if items will go down in price – or go out of stock. How can you make sure to get the most out of Black Friday tech shopping this year?
Black Friday is coming!
T hanksgiving break is upon us, and that means that Black Friday is nearly here. Many people will be taking advantage of the widespread deals to buy holiday gifts for family and friends (or even a little gift for themselves). Thankfully, most of the deals are in a department known for its exorbitant prices – the tech aisle.
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Your guide to avoiding the pitfalls of Black Friday shopping
Know what you’re looking for before you go. While it’s true that holiday sales don’t tend to be on every single product, you’ll want to figure out what it is that you’re looking for to avoid buying unnecessary toys and to actually get deals on the things you need. This is especially important if you’re not partial to certain tech brands such as Apple.
Be safe. Black Friday events can be packed, and while that’s a lot of fun, it does come with added safety concerns. If a fellow shopper is willing to fight with you over the last 50% off TV, it is not worth the discount! Also, it’s a good idea to keep any cash or credit/debit cards in your pocket or purse (and always keep that purse near you). If shopping with children unequipped with cell phones, you should either keep them with you or agree on a central location to meet at a specific time.
Check if your new gadgets are compatible with your current gear (and read reviews too). That Apple Watch may be cool and functional, but it won’t work at all if you try to pair it with your Samsung Galaxy. Also, be sure to check reviews, as some manufacturers claim that their devices are compatible with others, but in reality their consumers might end up losing out on a lot of features.
Here are a few tips: If you’re shopping at a store with a Black Friday guarantee, make your purchase now while items are still in stock. Many stores, such as Best Buy and Target, are offering guarantees so you don’t have to worry about the price going down after you buy the item – because if it does, they’ll refund the difference. It’s best to get what you need sooner rather than later, because things might become unavailable if you wait too long.
I hope these tips help you to have an enjoyable Black Friday experience this year! I’m so excited about all the deals that are coming. Wishing you all an awesome shopping trip! Charles Metz is a freshman theology major from Center, N.D.
Consider whether your items will make good gifts. Make sure that your gifts are actually something the recipient would appreciate. Unfortunately, your friends and family may not enjoy tech as much as you do. If you want to get them tech, consider if it will make their life easier or not (and whether or not they will agree with you!).
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Here is what to expect for the upcoming 2021 parade. The line up will include 15 character balloons, 28 floats, 36 inflatables, 800+ clowns, 10 marching bands, 9 performance groups and many musical performers. New balloons include Ada Twist, Grogu, Pikachu & Eevee and a new Ronald McDonald, among other original Macy’s mascots. New floats will include Peacock TV’s Girls5eva cast and Disney Cruise’s inflatable ship featuring Jordan Fisher. The usual floats will be there, featuring Miss America Camille Schrier, Chris Lane, Andy Grammar, Jimmie Allen, Darren Criss, aespa, Foreigner and of course, Santa himself. I am most excited to see the casts from Broadway’s “Six,” “Moulin Rouge! The Musical,” and “Wicked.” Macy’s also announced that Carrie Underwood is the headliner for the parade, but the information is not on the website yet. If you decide to watch it, NBC, Telemundo and Peacock TV will be covering it from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Thanksgiving Day in all timezones. Happy Thanksgiving! Annelise Jacobs is a sophomore communication major from Peru, Maine.
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Thanksgiving traditions for America T hanksgiving morning, 9:00 a.m. in NYC or on NBC, you can’t miss it.
Whenever my family gets together at my grandparent’s house, for some reason, we always end up watching the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. Someone puts it on the telly in the background while everyone prepares the meal. Periodically during preparation, someone actually paying attention will yell, “Look, (insert anyone’s name) it’s (insert any of the 100+ characters represented in the parade)!” Cue everyone turning to the telly to see what they are talking about, regardless of whether they know the character or not. A strange and unplanned tradition, the parade lives on. This parade, more massive every year, started in 1924 as a marketing scheme. Macy’s had just expanded to cover an entire city block, and they were beginning to open regional locations. To celebrate, the store hosted this Thanksgiving morning parade. By making the theme Christmas, the goal was to attract holiday shoppers into the store, creating an earlier Christmas season. They weren’t the first department store to use this strategy, but they were the ones to win in the longThegame.tradition began with just the store employees, in bright and festive costumes. They were surrounded by a few floats, professional bands and live animals from Central Park Zoo. The finale was Santa Claus being crowned “King of the Kiddies.” The first parade drew a crowd of over 250,000 people. Macy’s declared the parade annual soon after. The only exception to that announcement was the cancelation from 1942-1944 for World War II during the rubber and helium shortages. After resuming, the parade became national in 1947, when it was featured on “Miracle on 34th Street.”
If I truly want to honor the memory of 9/11, then I believe I must not forget that day and help those who were not there understand the legacy and magnitude of what took place. I must not forget that anger and prejudice, that four acts of hate, cost thousands of lives and broke the hearts of the world. I also believe I have a duty to honor that day by living in love, by practicing storge and agape, as Christ Himself modeled it during His time here on earth. At the last supper, Christ stated, “Do this in remembrance of me” (Mark 14:2225, Luke 22:18-20) and we find ourselves repeating the communion hundreds of years after Christ’s sacrifice. I intend to live in love, to demonstrate healing and forgiveness, in remembrance of all those we buried twenty years ago.
Secondly, as we move on to our next twenty years, I wish us all to know love –love that is greater than our collective pain and anger, love that transcends human needs for justice and provides peace to our aching hearts because in our collective human heart, we are all one family suffering together. The ancient Greeks called this love “storge” and “agape,” unconditional familial love and empathetic, universal love.
20 years later
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Asheley Woodruff is a psychology adjunct of the Social Work and Sociology Program.
T wenty years is a long time to carry a memory. For many of you, it is the length of your entire lifetime. For others, it may be one-third or one-fourth. For me, twenty years is half my life, half my memories, half my experiences. There is a defining line between the person I had become by the age of twenty and the person I am now. Sadly, for me and my family, that line was the terrorist attacks on 9/11. An event that not only changed me, but changed my family and the world in which I had grown up.
For my family, the tragedy was real and personal. We are from New York City, or simply “the City” as we normally call it. That September, I was attending college in Pennsylvania, just four hours from the crash site of Flight 93. My dad worked for the New York City Fire Department and was called to Ground Zero just after the Twin Towers collapsed. My family didn’t just watch the attack on the television, we lived the experience of the world crashing down around us. Like so many others, we internalized the trauma and anxiety of the complete horror that took only twenty minutes to begin and twenty years of a devastating war to conclude.
I have thought long and hard about what I have wanted to say about the twenty-year anniversary of 9/11. It’s not a subject that deserves to be ignored or lightly regarded. To form my thoughts, I consider those who experienced Pearl Harbor, Hiroshima and Nagasaki and Omaha Beach, like my grandparents, and how those who have that shared experience remember the pain of those days just as vividly as so many of us remember Sept. 11, 2001. I also think about all of us learning to adapt to a world with COVID-19. This is an enemy we can’t see, but one that has claimed countless lives and changed the way we live. For many, it will be the event we point to as the defining moment our human experience changed.
Honoring those lost on Sept. 11
As we move past the twentieth anniversary of 9/11, firstly, I want to say that I vow to remember and honor all the lives lost that day. I promise to remember my dad’s comrades who never made it home, the victims who were merely going about their daily business of work or travel, and those who died in the years following as a result. Their losses are wounds healed, permanent scars which will ache every year in the memories of the survivors. Their losses will be tears we never anticipated shedding for the rest of our lives.
GIVEAWAY
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Look out for a Christmas giveaway in our last issue of the semester, coming out on Dec. 8. Ten winners will take home a gift card. Be sure to follow @uc.clocktower on Instagram for additional information.
15 UNION NEWS THURS. 11.18.21 uGather @ 10:35 a.m., CVC Warrior women’s basketball @ 5:00 p.m., Thunderdome Warrior men’s basketball @ 7:00 p.m., Thunderdome 11.19.21 - 11.28.21 Thanksgiving Break WRITE?WANNA Contact us on social media or email us at clocktower@ucollege.edu for more information about Clocktower positions and editorial opportunities for the 2021-2022 school year.
16 the official COLLEGEUNION newspaper The Clocktower The Clocktower encourages reader feedback and strives to maintain accuracy. If you have comments, please email juliet.bromme@ucollege.edu or hannah.drewieck@ucollege.edu. The Clocktower, established in 1927 and sponsored by the Student Association of Union College, is published weekly during the fall and spring semesters. The opinions expressed are the opinions of the writers and are not to be construed as the opinion of the editors, Student Association, Union College, or the Seventh-day Adventist Church. 5 4 8 2 9 9 2 5 6 4 6 8 1 8 6 4 9 1 2 3 7 3 2 9 5 8 1 https://www.puzzles.ca/sudoku/instagram:@uc.clocktower