Liberty Champion April 2, 2019

Flames spring football

Mueller report A5

B1

VOLUME 36, ISSUE 18

LYNCHBURG, VIRGINIA

LIBERTYCHAMPION.COM | TUESDAY, APRIL 2, 2019 | LIBERTY UNIVERSITY

Monogr am lights up mountain

Allison Heise| Liberty Champion

IL-LU-MINATION — The Liberty Monogram now has lighting, which illuminates the branding until 11 p.m. See A6 for more information.

LU remembers Civil War Seminar commemorates American history Emily Wood ewood13@liberty.edu

Michael Hardy — author, 2010 North Carolina Historian of the Year and Civil War expert — gave two presentations at the seminar on the food during the Civil War and the heroism of the Brank-Lane brigade.

Hardy’s love for the time period dates back to when his uncle took him to a Civil War reenactment at age 10. “(My uncle) bought me a jacket and he bought me a hat (at the reenactment), and I have been hooked ever since,” Hardy said. “I got to carry the flag. … I read every book that I could get my hands on, which I realize now was not that many books. Being out there (at the reenactment) and smelling the smoke was what hooked me so many years ago.”

See REMEMBRANCE, A3

Jerry Falwell guest on ‘The Todd Starnes Show’

After The Daily Beast published an inaccurate report on the relationship between Liberty University’s Freedom Aviation and the Department of Defense, Liberty President Jerry Falwell spoke out against the publication on “The Todd Starnes Show” March 29, according to Liberty News Service.

Local

Hobby Lobby to open next week

Macy Hrncir| Liberty Champion

MUSEUM — The on-campus Civil War Chaplains Museum is located south of the Hancock Welcome Center.

Campus construction

East to get a parking garage, some 90s dorms to close Rachel Van Tuyl rvantuyl@liberty.edu

Construction on the new East Campus parking garage, set to open July 2020, will begin right after Liberty University Commencement May 11. To accommodate the garage, East Campus Dorms 191 and 192 will be torn down, and Vice President of Major Construction Daniel Deter said Liberty decided to temporarily close Dorms 190 and 193 during the construction of the new garage in the 2019-2020 school year.

“We know the parking garage con-

Liberty

struction is going to go on during the school year, and this construction will have times that could be disruptive to student’s daily activities. The new parking garage is only about 30 feet away from those dorms,” Deter said. “(To have) less stress on those students, we’re going to hold those two dorms.”

If enrollment and on-campus housing demand for the 2019-2020 year is high enough to cause a housing shortage, Deter said they plan to open these dorms, filling the sides farthest from the construction first. The last rooms to be filled would be the ones facing the construction.

About 170 beds will be lost by tearing the dorms down. As a result, Deter is prepared for a possible lack of housing.

“If we do run into a bed shortage, we have a backup plan,” Deter said. “We’ve got Commons I, II and III currently, and I’ve got a Commons IV fully designed and sitting there ready to go.”

The decision to close the dorms was made in mid-March. Deter said Liberty decided this because living near a construction zone is not ideal for students.

“We went through that with the Hill dorms,” Deter said.

See 90s, A6

Lynchburg’s newest arts and crafts superstore, Hobby Lobby, is slated to open at 2315 Wards Road, April 8.

According to Lynchburg Regional Business Alliance, a ribbon cutting will take place at 9 a.m. April 8. Refreshments will be served.

National

USC student killed after getting into wrong Uber

Samantha Josephson, a 21-year-old University of South Carolina student, was found dead March 29 after getting into a car she believed was an Uber, March 28. Police found Josephson’s phone and some blood in the back of Nathaniel David Rowland’s car following his arrest, according to CNN.

Joe Biden responds to allegations of inappropriate behavior Though he has not announced plans to run in the 2020 presidential campaign, former Vice President Joe Biden is facing backlash for his public displays of affection toward women. Biden said March 31 he does not believe he has acted inappropriately, according to AP News, but many Democrats are questioning Biden’s past behavior and its impact on his ability to run for president.

Measles on the rise

AP News reported that 2019 has already seen more cases of the measles than all of 2018. As of the end of March, there were 387 confirmed cases, according to the Centers for Disease Control. There were 372 cases of the measles in 2018. While the measles are treatable in most cases, the virus is extremely contagious. Those who have not been vaccinated are most susceptible.

INSIDE THE CHAMPION

Content

Mayor of Lynchburg sits down with copy editor Emma Smith.

A8

What’s News

Opinion

Tougher punishments are needed to reduce racist behavior toward athletes.

Sports A5

Spring football opens; Coach Hugh Freeze takes the field.

Feature

B1

LU student Mia Nelson to compete in the Miss Virginia competition.

B6

Content Opinion

A1 A4

Sports Feature

B1 B5

content

A2 | April 2, 2019 | Liberty Champion

Happy birthday to Rookie’s Food truck celebrates second year of business with party, free samples Hattie Troutman hatroutman@liberty.edu

Rookie’s, a Lynchburg cookie and ice cream food truck, celebrated its second year of business with a weekend-long birthday party March 28-31, offering customers free samples of milk, cookies and a raffle prize.

Throughout the weekend celebrations, Rookie’s ice cream and milk provider, Homestead Creamery, brought free samples, serving its locally-made specialty milks and ice creams. Each customer could also put their name in the Rookie of the Year raffle for a chance at $8 a week to spend at Rookie’s for an entire year. The first 500 Rookie’s customers on March 30 also received a free cookie.

Jordan and Holly Nickerson, creators of the local business and Liberty University alumni, opened their truck March 30, 2017, bringing Lynchburg a new dessert experience. Originally, the dessert truck started under the name Mookie’s, but after trademark issues with the first name, they changed the name to Rookie’s.

According to co-owner Bryce Nelson, who graduated this past December from Liberty with a degree in sales and marketing, they started Rookie’s to offer a dessert experience in Lynchburg that had been lacking. “(Rookie’s) is not just (somewhere) to get ice cream, but is (also) somewhere you can go that feels comfortable, and you can relate to it and has great customer service,” Nelson said. “I was a Liberty student, and a lot of what you do to hang out with your friends is to go get food, so this place provides you not only dessert but a place to sit and hang with friends.”

“

Atang Agwe | Liberty Champion

RELAX — Rookies’ owners hope customers feel comfortable and welcome at the food truck.

Despite most food truck exchanges between the customer and employee being quick and non-personal, Rookie’s strives to make every customer feel welcomed and comfortable while serving warm cookies and ice cream.

“Even though it is a food truck when you walk up, you almost forget that because most trucks are known for a quick transaction where you walk up and leave. This is more counter to that type of culture,” Nelson said.

“It’s made to order, and we want you to come and talk … and enjoy your time by listening to music and seeing some friends.”

Even though it is a food truck when you walk up, you almost forget that because most trucks are known for a quick transaction where you walk up and leave. This is more counter to that type of culture.

— Bryce Nelson

Nelson said hospitality and generosity are at the core of both Jordan and Holly Nickerson, and that is the motivating factor for them as they run their business.

Along with owning Rookie’s, Jordan Nickerson currently works as a resident director for Liberty’s Office of Residential Life. Because of their deep roots in the Liberty community, many staff members come from the Flames family.

Nelson worked as a resident assistant under Jordan Nickerson before he joined Rookie’s last fall.

According to Katie Rolewicz, an employee of Rookie’s since August 2018, the small business intentionally seeks out employees who are excited about Rookie’s and will bring a welcoming attitude to the dessert truck. Rolewicz said Rookie’s emphasizes that every customer is important to them, and they do not want customers to go through the line feeling unwelcomed.

Once 10 p.m. rolls around during Rookie’s open season, employees can expect a long line of customers waiting for fresh cookies. Rolewicz said they have more fun inside the truck when it’s busier.

“We have a lot of fun throwing out fun names for the cookie sandwiches and screaming random things, like ‘big milk’ and ‘little milk’ because we want to create such a fun environment,” Rolewicz said.

During its last two years of existence, Rookie’s has seen an explosive amount of support from the local community. As Rookie’s looks to the future, the owners are evaluating options on what expansion will look like. While this could include adding a new truck or making a brick and mortar location, Nelson said any expansion will not stray from their company values.

“People don’t just come to Rookie’s for the cookies, even though they are amazing.

They come to hang out with their friends — blaring music and sitting at the picnic tables enjoying time with other people,” Rolewicz said. “It’s not just about the cookies, it’s about creating an environment where you can come hang out and feel like you are at home.”

TROUTMAN is a content reporter.

Praying for Alexis

Liberty Law student remains in critical condition after horrific crash Logan Smith lcsmith@liberty.edu

Photo Provided

STUDIOUS — Alexis Livingston is a first-year Liberty Law student.

Liberty University law student Alexis Livingston remains on life support in the Neurosurgical Intensive Care Unit at the VCU (Virginia Commonwealth University) Medical Center after experiencing a head-on collision with

a tractor trailer Tuesday, March 12, in Petersburg, Virginia.

Livingston, 25, suffered a traumatic brain injury and fractured multiple bones, including ribs, legs and ankles, along with other injuries. As of the writing of this article, Livingston is slowly progressing, but remains in critical condition.

CAMPUS CALENDAR 04/06 - Lisette Brody Book Signing

4 p.m. | Liberty Barnes & Noble Bookstore 04/06 - Tori Kelly feat. Nightbirde

7:30 p.m. | Vines Center 04/06 - Fashion Show

8 p.m. | LaHaye Rec & Fitness Center Multipurpose Center 04/10 - Sodexo Produce Stand

9 a.m. | Montview Student Union Tabling 04/13 - Coffeehouse: Where Dreams Come True

11:30 p.m. | Vines Center 04/14 - Bedford County Hunt Horse Show

8 a.m. | Equestrian Center Indoor Arena 04/16 - Open Mic

7 p.m. | Argo Tea Café COLOR KEY:

STUDENT ACTIVITIES

SHARE WITH US

CONCERTS

CLUB EVENTS

“Please keep praying for her and sending her good thoughts, wishes and love,” Eric Livingston, her father, said on GoFundMe. She remains sedated as doctors moderate her high intracranial pressure, resulting from brain swelling.

For daily updates, visit Livingston’s GoFundMe page, created by her sister,

Hayley Livingston.

“Alexis is the most selfless and caring person I have ever met,” Hayley Livingston said on GoFundMe. “Alexis is one of the strongest people I have ever known, and I am sure that if anyone can recover from this, she can.”

SMITH is the manager of content.

CO N VO CAT I O N S C H E D U L E

Lynchburg NO CONVOCATION Daily Bread

04.03.19 BOB SMILEY

CAMPUS EVENTS

@LUChampionNews

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04.05.19

content

Liberty Champion | April 2, 2019 | A3

First Campus Rec Fest Two-day campus recreation event will offer activities and workshops

compete with peers. Each climbing challenge will be rated by stars, with the harder bouldering routes having more stars.

Liberty University’s first Campus Rec The competitors with the most stars at the Fest will offer students a variety of events end win. on Friday and Saturday, April 26-27.

The first day of the Campus Rec Fest will The two-day event will offer a range of ac- close with a free concert from singer and tivities for people interested in arts and mu- songwriter Tyson Motsenbocker at 7:30 sic, athletics and fitness and the outdoors, p.m. in the LaHaye Event Space. according to Hailey Gustafson, the market“Whether you’re looking to participate ing lead of Liberty’s Student Activities. in one of our many athletic or fitness ac“Campus Rec Fest is our first annual tivities, enjoy the latest in arts or music, recreation and entertainment festival, high- spend time in the outdoors, or explore any lighting a variety of events and workshops to of our state-of-the-art facilities, Campus help foster social, physical and educational Rec Fest will have something for you,” development within the recreation indus- Gustafson said.

Students will be able to enjoy both athtry,” Gustafson said.

Each of the eight campus recreation de- letics and the arts at the main event of the day, the Campus Rec Fest Expo, on Saturday from 12 p.m. to 3 p.m. The expo will consist of various events such as a CrossFit competition and a photography workshop.

Rec Fest — Hailey Gustafson willTheendCampus with a bonfire partments will offer events each day. Gus- and a “glow night” on the Lake Hydaway tafson hopes that after the event, students beach. Attendees will be able to go kayakwill get to know more about the Campus ing with glow sticks, eat snacks and enter Recreation department. giveaways.

“We want students to come out and find Students will also have the option of a place in one of our eight departments watching “Mary Poppins Returns” at an where they fit in best and to truly find outdoor movie night at 8:30 p.m. on the an on-campus activity that they enjoy,” Academic Lawn.

Gustafson said.

In previous years, Student Activities has A photo expo on both days of the Campus held Outdoor Rec Fests with a few activiRec Fest will give students a chance to show- ties similar to this year’s Campus Rec Fest. case their best work in the LaHaye Event However, this year they are doing someSpace. Photographers may submit up to thing a little different. two pieces.

“Campus Rec Fest will be held in place Students attending the event will vote of Outdoor Rec Fest this year, as Camon their favorite photograph, and winners pus Rec Fest will include Outdoor Recrewill be announced that day. The submission ation as one of its featured departments,” deadline is April 23 at 5 p.m.

Gustafson said.

For students looking for something more According to Gustafson, part of the reaathletic, the Star Chaser Climbing Chal- son for having the Campus Rec Fest is to lenge at the rock wall will offer a chance to raise awareness of other opportunities the Rachel Van Tuyl rvantuyl@liberty.edu

“

We want students to ... truly find an on-campus activity that they enjoy.

Joel Isimeme| Liberty News Service

TOUR — On April 26, attendees will be able to take a hayride tour of the Equestrian Center.

Campus Recreation department offers.

“We hope students will benefit from Campus Rec Fest by gaining a better understanding of who Campus Rec is and what we do,” Gustafson said. “Ultimately, Campus Rec Fest will give students an idea of what we do as a department, so that they can figure out how they want to get involved.”

There are a few opportunities for students to get involved with the Campus Rec Fest. While the event will not be staffed by volunteers, Gustafson said students interested in getting involved with the event as an attendant can check the Campus Recreation website for more information.

To register for events at the Campus Rec Fest, get involved or to find out more information, students can visit www.liberty.edu/campusrec/. More information can also be found on the Facebook event page at https://www.facebook.com/ events/2049878528439128/.

VAN TUYL is the assistant content editor.

Faculty Opportunities While the Campus Rec Fest is primarily aimed toward students, Gustafson said some departments will also be offering discounts for faculty.

A $10 combo pass for the Liberty Mountain Snowflex Centre, available from April 26-28, will give faculty two hours to tube, use the trampoline and slope and rent ski equipment. Students can use Snowflex for free.

Faculty will also be able to use the bowling alley, go camping and take advantage of off-site rentals for free during the Campus Rec Fest. Finally, from April 26-28, faculty will be able to get 10 percent off all the personal training programs the LaHaye Rec & Fitness Center offers.

graphic provided

REMEMBRANCE continued from A1 Hardy began writing books on the Civil War 30 years ago when he worked as a librarian. As people asked him questions about the Civil War, he noticed a lack in documentation on the subject.

“When it comes to a local level (of history), we really don’t know that much because no one has taken the time to do the sources and do the digging,” Hardy said.

Twenty-four books later, Hardy still seeks to tell the untold stories of

the Civil War. “It’s easier to tell that story (of the Battle of Gettysburg) than it is to dive into the individual people because their stories are more complex,” Hardy said. “They’re not neat and tidy. Their stories are the ones we need to be telling, in my opinion, because it’s these people that make up the Battle of Gettysburg.”

Dr. Christopher Jones, associate professor of history at Liberty, spoke on the daily camp life of a Civil War soldier. Jones views the Civil War as one of the most monumental points in American history.

Macy Hrncir | Liberty Champion

MUSEUM — An exhibit in the Civil War Chaplains Museum has a replica of an Orthodox Jewish chaplain.

“To better understand the present, I would argue that the Civil War period is one of the most defining periods in American history,” Jones said. “Everything from race, class, gender, politics, regional divides and polarization were big issues back then and stepping stones to getting us where we are now.”

Jones says he notices many correlations with the current day and the 1860s era.

“There’s a lot of value in studying Civil War history and that time period to better understand the present,” Jones said. “To better understand why things are the way they are now, the Civil War period is a prominent time period to look at.”

Russel Hicks, one of the nation’s top collectors of Civil War artifacts, presented a display of artifacts, books and newspapers from the era.

Civil War reenactor and Liberty graduate student Lucas Peed also presented at the seminar.

The seminar designated time to honor the memory of Kenny Rowlette, who died in October, Macy Hrncir | Liberty Champion 2018. Rowlette launched Liberty’s first Civil War Seminar and served DISPLAY — Russel Hicks presented Civil War-era artifacts at the seminar. as the director of the Civil War Chaplains Museum on campus. in both his students and historical edge to the present, Jones encour“We missed (Rowlette),” Jones figures. He was also a member of ages young Americans to learn from said. “It just wasn’t the same without him. … He was a professor on the Sons of Confederate Veterans the mistakes of the past.

“What not to do can be learned campus for a number of decades and and a member of the Sons of Union Veterans. from history and from time frames a fixture at Thomas Road Baptist “The man had heroes on both sides such as the Civil War period,” Jones Church. ... He was very encouraging, coaxing you to step outside of (of the war),” Jones said. “When you said. “Don’t let it go this far.” your comfort zone to do something look at the prowess, the bravery of to meet your potential. … He was a some of these men and what they walking encyclopedia when it came went through, regardless of North or South … he looked at the heart and to the Civil War.” Jones said Rowlette was a lov- saw the potential in people.” ing Christian who saw the good As for applying historical knowl- WOOD is a content reporter.

OPINION

A4

April 2, 2019

Fake news issues

Expanding the libel laws would undermine journalists Macy Hrncir mhrncir@liberty.edu

It is no secret that President Donald Trump and many media outlets have been at each other’s throats for the duration of his presidency. Trump singlehandedly popularized the term “fake news,” a term he uses frequently when describing the media’s negative and misguiding coverage of himself.

“Isn’t it a shame that someone can write an article or book, totally make up stories and form a picture of a person that is literally the exact opposite of the fact, and get away with it without retribution or cost,” Trump tweeted in September 2018. “Don’t know why Washington politics don’t change libel laws?”

Libel has been legally defined by the court as “publishing an untruth about another which will do harm to that person or his/her reputation, by tending to bring the target into ridicule, hatred, scorn or contempt of others.”

However, sadly for Trump, it is much harder for a public figure to win a libel lawsuit than it is for a private individual.

This was decided in the Supreme Court case New York Times Co. v. Sullivan.

In this case, the Court decided that proof of actual malice is required in a libel lawsuit involving public officials or matters of public concern. Later, in Curtis Publishing Co. v. Butts, the burden of proof was put on the public figure to prove that malice exists in the case of an untruth being published.

Earlier this year, Justice Clarence Thomas discussed the current libel laws, saying the Courts decision had no basis in the Constitution. However, based in the Constitution or not, the current libel laws serve an important purpose. They exist to protect two of the most funda-

mental American rights: freedom of the press and freedom of speech.

The justices involved in the New York Times v. Sullivan case wrote that the limitations on libel laws reflect their “profound national commitment to the principle that debate on public issues should be uninhibited, robust, and wide-open, and that it may well include vehement, caustic, and sometimes unpleasantly sharp attacks on government and public officials.”

“

with an apology letter or recanting of words, but not anymore.

By the time the news organization may decide to apologize, the story has already gone viral across social media platforms.

However, the libel laws do serve an important purpose. If journalists and newscasters could be sued for every little error they publish about a public figure or official, it could cause them to shy away from controversial, risky top-

We need a healthy dialogue in this country, and the best way to be informed is to hear both sides of the story, regardless of the political or social side of the issue.

— Macy Hrncir

The media serves an age-old role as the “watchdog” of the government.

These current libel laws exist so that media professionals can do their jobs without constant terror of getting any little detail wrong. If someone in the media did, for example, completely make up stories or form a false image of a person as Trump said, they could be punished under the current libel laws.

In most cases, if a media outlet does get information wrong, they will issue an apology or another media outlet will call them out on that error. Unfortunately, the prominence of social media has presented a problem when it comes to controlling libel in the media. In recent months, there have been a medley of truly fake reports about both Trump and other prominent political figures.

Traditionally, this could be remedied

ics that concern the public. We need a healthy dialogue in this country, and the best way to be informed is to hear both sides of the story, regardless of the political or social side of the issue.

The tension between politicians and journalists is good for American democracy, to a point. It proves that both sides are doing their jobs of informing the public about information that they need to know. The founding fathers created a system of checks and balances within the constitution, and the American people created their own system of checks and balances in the media.

The current libel laws are more than adequate to allow the spread of good information while still protecting the subjects of news.

HRNCIR is an opinion writer.

Electoral college

Our current system ensures equality for every voter Kelly Sobnosky ksobnosky1@liberty.edu

In 2016, Donald Trump won the presidential election despite the fact Hillary Clinton secured the popular vote. In American history, five presidents have won the electoral college but not the popular vote. Recently, some prominent figures, including several democratic candidates in 2020, have called for the popular vote to be the only result that matters.

In theory, this sounds reasonable, but the Electoral College was put in place to serve the purposes of the nation. It exists to give the smaller states a voice, and stop larger states such as California, New York and Texas from controlling the outcome of elections.

According to the Huffington Post, the Electoral College works in conjunction with the popular vote.

In Nebraska and Maine, the electoral votes are split depending on proportional representation of the citi-

zens’ votes. For the rest of the 48 states and the District of Columbia, the winner of the popular vote takes all the electoral votes for that state.

The Electoral College was put into place in 1804.

According to the National Archives and Records Administration, “The Founding Fathers established it in the Constitution as a compromise between election of the President by a vote in Congress and election of the President by a popular vote of qualified citizens.”

In other words, the Founding Fathers created the Electoral College as a compromise between voting solely by the elected officials, whom they believed were more educated, and the wants of the citizens of the United States.

This reasoning could seem a little outdated, as the general populace today has greater access to political information and is generally more informed about candidate’s policy positions.

Additionally, it is easier to remain informed on candi-

dates now with the media than it was when the system was established.

What is relevant is that the Electoral College gives more power to the smaller states that are otherwise far more insignificant. For example, if the U.S. were to switch to popular vote only, Rhode Island would not have as much sway as North Carolina, nor would North Carolina have as much sway as New York.

Without the Electoral College, the smaller states would become insignificant and their votes would be meaningless. That is not what our founding fathers intended.

They created a system of checks and balances, so that one person (or state) would not have too much power over another.

However, even with the Electoral College, the system is not perfect. New York still gets more votes than Rhode Island; however, with the electoral college, Rhode Island still gets a say, regardless of its population.

Consider this: the U.S.

Google Images

ELECTORAL MAP — The 2016 vote resulted in Donald Trump winning the electoral college, despite losing the popular vote to Hillary Clinton.

has a national population of over 328 million, according to the United States Census Bureau. New York has around 19.5 million which is roughly 6 percent of the national population. Rhode Island has a population of just over 1 million, which is around 0.3 percent of the population. This means that New York has more than 20 times the number of people of Rhode Island.

Though these two states are relatively close in geographical terms, they each have their own economies and wishes that would benefit their state. In a battle of population, New York is going to win every time, and Rhode Island will be drowned out.

In the Electoral College, New York has 29 votes and Rhode Island has three. The Electoral College has a total number of 538 electors.

Translation: New York holds five percent of the votes and Rhode Island holds .5 percent of the votes. New York still has roughly 10 times the number of votes as Rhode Island, but in this system, each of the smaller states has a greater say. In this way, the Electoral College allows population to be treated as a contributing factor without it becoming the only factor.

The Founding Fathers knew what they were doing when they created the Electoral College, and it allows the government to give a voice to the little guy without completely ignoring the greater number of voices of the more populated states.

In a country that strives for equality, the Electoral College is as close as the country can get.

SOBNOSKY is an opinion writer.

LIFE WITH

Liz

Elizabeth Mallicoat emallicoat@liberty.edu

I met Elizabeth Mallicoat in 2018. She worked as a photo archivist for the Champion, but no one realized her design potential until she received the B-section graphic design position last semester. Since then, Liz has been a driving force in the office, building a dense portfolio of sports and feature graphics for this newspaper. She is an incredible person to work with, and the paper would not look as good without her.

Life with Logan will return April 16.

-Logan

You could be in the library, the gym, class or at a coffee shop, and it’s not uncommon to hear, “Wait: you’re an introvert? I never would have guessed!” “What’s your wing?” or “Wow, she’s such a 7.”

As Liberty University students, we’re not strangers to the conversations surrounding personality types. Between Myers-Briggs, the Enneagram, or the DISC, some may argue we are one of the most self-aware generations yet. We read books, listen to podcasts, attend workshops, and follow social media accounts, all revolving around self-analyzation.

What is it about personality typing that interests our culture so much?

Before I go any further, I want to emphasize that personality quizzes do have a lot of value.

By understanding more about ourselves, we are able to better shape the way we interact with others. These tests give us the tools we need to encourage healthy habits and understand why we fall short in other areas. Unfortunately, the fascination surrounding these quizzes does not always stem from a desire to understand our honest downfalls and grow in that knowledge.

One of the first reasons for the popularity comes from a wish to fit in with others, identify with a group, and say “I’m one of you.” We do this with all sorts of things — the sports teams we watch, the part of the country we’re from, the major we’re studying — the list goes on. It gives us a feeling of belonging to share a common trait with a group of people, and shared personalities gives us a platform to connect with others.

Another important note as humans: we love to talk about ourselves; it’s in our nature. We find value in our uniqueness. It feels good to say, “I’m an ENFJ, the Caregiver. I tend to love others too much and not take care of myself.” It gives us a sense of value.

Personality analysis equips us to understand how we process situations, respond to others and see areas of our lives that need improvement. I’m not abdicating for stepping completely away from them — but the danger occurs when we become so entrenched in the identity of our type that we are unwilling to change for the sake of becoming more Christ-like.

One of the dangers of personality tests occurs when we choose to use our traits as an excuse for our behaviors. Being an introvert does not justify isolating yourself from community, being a thinker does not allow you to disregard the feelings of others, and just because you’re a “leader” does not necessarily mean you need to take control of all situations. Understanding our tendencies allows us to recognize areas that require growth, but do not provide a cop-out for our selfish behaviors.

Regardless of your personality, you are called to be like Christ in everything you say and do.

As believers, we are told in Ephesians 5:12, “Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.” Becoming like Christ is a process of dying to self and looking to the author and perfecter of our faith. We should not allow our obsession with our own characters to get in the way of imitating the perfect character found in Christ.

MALLICOAT is a graphic designer.

opinion

Liberty Champion | April 2, 2019 | A5

Response to racism

In Europe, improper conduct by fans faces stricter punishment by leagues Chad Wylie cewylie@liberty.edu

Throughout history, sports have led the way in establishing positive social change, benefiting our nation as a whole. Jackie Robinson integrated into Major League Baseball almost 20 years before desegregation laws passed through Congress. Muhammad Ali opposed the Vietnam war before public polling mirrored his position.

Now sports again have the opportunity to take the lead and confront racism among a small but vocal segment of society that displays its racial animus toward others. Some of these people use sports arenas and stadiums as a home for their bigotry, On May 1, 2017, Red Sox fans subjected Baltimore Orioles center fielder Adam Jones to racist verbal abuse during his visit to Fenway Park in Boston.

“A disrespectful fan threw a bag of peanuts at me,” Jones said after the game. “I was called the N-word a handful of times tonight.

It’s unfortunate that people need to resort to those types of epithets to degrade another human being.”

More recently, Russell Westbrook, the NBA point guard for the Oklahoma City Thunder got into a shouting match with a Utah Jazz fan during a road game in Utah.

The fan allegedly told Westbrook to “get down on (his) knees like he used to,” which he perceived as a racially insensitive remark. When media members found the fan’s Twitter account, which was deleted soon after the incident, they found racist and violent content.

In both of these cases, the teams banned the guilty fans for life. These punishments are well intentioned and put in place to try to deter other fans from engaging in the same actions. However, they have proved relatively ineffective across the board.

Banning fans for life is ineffective, due to

the large amount of tickets available on the secondhand market through StubHub and Ticket Master and does not give fans any reason to police themselves and report inappropriate behavior.

The example set in Europe, where racism and violence among fans is more commonplace, should set the example for American teams and leagues striving to police fans and end racist abuse in stadiums.

Among fans in Europe, there have been several high-profile incidents of racist chants and abuse by fans. Supporters of the English soccer club Chelsea shoved a black man out of a metro train while chanting, “We’re racist, and that’s the way we like it,” in 2015, according to Deadspin. In Russia before the 2018 World Cup, several African-French members of the French national team recall hearing fans imitating monkey noises when they had the ball. The monkey chant was also directed toward minority English players during their match against Montenegro in March 2019.

In some instances, soccer teams will issue severe punishments by banning all fans from a match and forcing teams to play in an empty stadium. Most recently, in 2018, during Croatia’s match against England, no fans were allowed in the building due to “repeated instances of crowd trouble and racism,” as reported by Daily Mail.

In isolated cases with one or two fans acting up, this extreme solution may not be necessary. However, the issue remains as to what sports teams can do when there are larger crowds of intolerant, racially biased fans.

When Jones played in Fenway Park, more than 15 fans were ejected, and physical objects were thrown at Jones while on the field. A lifetime ban would prove ineffective for such a large crowd because it is impossible to know who all participated.

However, the threat of closing the stadium

SportsCenter | Facebook

FAN-LESS GAME — In 2015, the Baltimore Orioles played a Major League Baseball game against the Chicago White Sox in an empty stadium because the city was operating under a curfew following riots.

completely might encourage fans to police each other, so they don’t risk being unable to attend a game.

While this extreme step has never been taken in America to deter racist fans, there has been one instance where a closed-door game was played. April 29, 2015, the Baltimore Orioles played the Chicago White Sox with no fans in the stadium, due to the rioting in Baltimore and the curfew that had been placed on the city.

Sports organizations need to be on the forefront, promoting the ideal that racist behavior is wrong and cannot be tolerated. Only then can sporting events return to the values that make them unique,

that dozens of people, all with different experiences, can unite under a common goal and work together to achieve and accomplish it.

As recently retired New England Patriot Rob Gronkowski put it, “In sports, a team is surrounded with people with different backgrounds, with different races, and with different religions. In order to win, everybody comes together. I feel like that’s what the U.S.A. represents.”

WYLIE is the opinion editor.

Releasing the report Mueller has finished his investigation, but some aren’t satisfied with the results Mary Obringer mgobringer@liberty.edu

President Donald Trump says the Mueller report has cleared him of all criminal allegations, yet many Democrats are vocalizing their doubts and demanding the report be made public.

While Attorney General William Barr has made it clear Trump will not be charged with collusion or obstruction of justice, Democratic representatives are not yet convinced of Trump’s innocence.

Barr’s announcement that Trump will not be charged with collusion or obstruction of jus-

tice seems a pretty clear win for Trump. He will not be indicted for any criminal offense, lessening the chance of impeachment proceedings being brought against him.

After living with this investigation for more than two years, Trump wants nothing more than to believe this investigation is over and put it behind him.

“It was a complete and total exoneration,” Trump told the media.

However, the results of the investigation may not be as benign to Trump as he would like to believe.

Barr told USA Today that Mueller’s investigation did not tie Trump to Russian collusion but that he was

unsure about the obstruction of justice charges. In other words, Mueller did not find any evidence to charge Trump, but he does not believe the evidence exonerates him either.

In spite of the four-page summary Barr released, Democrats have not raised the white flag yet.

CNN reported that House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler has said he will call on Barr to testify soon about the alleged obstruction.

While this move may simply be a refusal to accept defeat, it could still tarnish Trump’s reputation if details surface that do not support his confident assertion that he has

Google Images

ROBERT MUELLER — On March 22, 2019, Mueller submitted the report of his investigation to Attorney General William Barr.

been cleared.

As it relates to obstruction, the specific accusations being brought against Trump relate to his treatment and eventual firing of former FBI Director James Comey. He is accused of asking Comey for “loyalty” and then firing Comey because of the Russia investigation, according to what Trump told NBC News.

Other accusations of obstruction include alleged conversations between Trump and key Mueller witnesses about giving them a pardon, including Paul Manafort and Michael Cohen, and many tweets that Trump issued that seemed to threaten or praise witnesses in the investigation.

While the report has yet to be made public, many, including the Democrats, are demanding the release of Mueller’s entire report, and CNN notes that Barr is working with Mueller to release the report to the public. However, Barr and Mueller need to remove classified information about grand jury testimony and ongoing investigations before releasing the report.

The public has also expressed its desire to see the report. CNN released a poll, saying 87 percent of Americans think citizens have a right to see Mueller’s report of this investigation, while only 9 percent think the report should not be released to the public.

Another reason the president

should be somewhat concerned is that the special counsel found that members of the Trump team, specifically Manafort, accepted help from Russia, according to USA Today. Multiple campaign chairmen, advisers and one of Trump’s lawyers have either been charged or pleaded guilty to tax evasion and have been linked with Russian operatives. Some of his aides were also charged with lying to cover up evidence. While Trump himself is avoiding charges, his public image will likely be affected by the charges brought against those around him.

Trump has indeed won in some ways. Avoiding charges for collusion and obstruction of justice are big victories. But the impact this entire investigation could have on Trump may not be clear until he is seeking reelection. If supporters lose confidence, that could shake up what to expect in the 2020 election.

For now, Trump lives to fight another day in the presidency. Trump has declared victory after more than two years of this investigation hanging over him. However, the Democrats have sent a clear message in return. They are not ready to accept defeat.

OBRINGER is an opinion writer.

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR POLICIES & INFO Logan Smith manager of content

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CONTENT

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SOCIAL MEDIA

Ryan Klinker photography editor

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content

A6 | April 2, 2019 | Liberty Champion

Advocating for the unborn Lifeline event, “The Truth About Planned Parenthood,” brings in former AG Madison Hirneisen mghirneisen@liberty.edu

Lifeline, Liberty’s pro-life club, hosted Dr. Philip Kline, at its “The Truth About Planned Parenthood” event March 18.

Kline served as the attorney general of Kansas and spent years advocating for Kansas minors who were coerced into getting illegal abortions.

Kline, a current Liberty Law professor, discussed his 2004 investigation of Planned Parenthood and Dr. George Tiller, who advocated and performed late-term abortions.

Tiller’s clinic was the premier late-term abortion clinic in the nation.

Kline shared how his faith and his experience investigating Planned Parenthood have impacted his view of the pro-life movement “The ground is level at the foot of the cross,” Kline said. “I don’t see Jesus Christ ranking sin. … I do not judge that person who got an abortion.”

After becoming attorney general of Kansas, Kline heard the story of a 13-year-old girl who had undergone an abortion at a Planned Parenthood office after being impregnated by her father. Because Kline found that Planned Parenthood did not report the case as child rape, he felt prompted to begin an investigation.

“Investigations are not done on Fox News,” Kline said. “They’re not done in Congress. They’re done on the street talking to real people who have suffered.”

Kline gathered evidence and found 166 cases of girls ages 9-14 receiving abortions from Tiller’s abortion clinic in Wichita and the Planned Parenthood clinic in the Kansas City area. Of these 166 cases, only two were reported as “child rape.” Kline believed Tiller had purposely ignored the child rape cases.

“I can’t imagine the shoes that some young women have walked in when they’ve been forced or coerced or decided to have an abortion, nor do I judge,” Kline said.

Kline investigated Planned Parenthood and Tiller to see if they were neglecting to report the cases as child rape, putting young women at risk. He discussed with students at the Lifeline event the important aspects of an investigation and explained the danger of going after a billion-dollar corporation like Planned Parenthood.

“If you’re going to get engaged in (fighting abortion), you’re going to have those times when people look at you and refuse to understand your heart and why you’re doing what you’re doing,” Kline said.

When Kline’s investigation became public, he and his family were under attack from

Lauren Osterhoudt | Liberty Champion

KLINE— The Liberty Law professor talked about his Planned Parenthood investigation. many members of the community. The FBI had to become involved for their protection.

Tiller, the abortion doctor Kline was investigating, was fatally shot in the head in 2009 while serving at his church. Tiller had previously been shot in the arms and survived his clinic being bombed.

Lifeline Club President Kyle Eisenhuth hosted Kline for the event so students could learn from Kline’s investigation.

healthy living

“If we don’t know the truth about Planned Parenthood and abortion in general, we can be fooled,” Eisenhuth said.

On April 16, Lifeline is hosting an event “Healing after abortion” in the Alumni Ballroom. Those interested in the event can RSVP at www.facebook.com/LULifeline.

HIRNEISEN is a content reporter.

Lights over Lynchburg Lillian Abbatacola leabbatacola@liberty.edu

After a debate in city council, the Liberty Monogram has been lit. Lights illuminate the iconic LU landscaping piece and also serve as a safety measure for the dark hiking spot. The lights cost Liberty $100,000, according to the News and Advance.

The landscaping feature spans three acres and serves as an artistic feature of the mountain. Students can be found lounging, reading or hammocking atop of Liberty Mountain.

ABBATACOLA is the content editor.

HEALTH — National Public Health Week, April 1-7,

will offer new ways for students to stay healthy during their time at Liberty. Students can stop by the Montview Student Union to participate in a distracted driving simulator, digital detox challenge and mindfulness on the Montview lawn.

April 3: Mindfulness on the Montview lawn April 4: Styles of Yoga Part 3 Workshop: Yoga Breathing Styles for Stress Relief at 5:30 p.m. in the Mind/ Body Studio. The Digital Detox Challenge, at Mont-

view Student Union tabling, also opens this day.

April 5: An AT&T representative and Tony Mayhew, a retired law enforcement officer, will be in the Montview Student Union to talk to students about the impacts of distracting driving. Students can also participate in a small distracting driving simulator.

April 7: Dance Fitness Master Class 10 a.m. -12 p.m. in the LaHaye Dance Studio.

See www.liberty.edu/studentaffairs/healthandwellness for more information.

Joel Coleman | Liberty News Service CLOSING — Two dorms will be torn down, and two dorms will be temporarily closed during construction.

90s continued from A1 “We tried to be as upfront as we could by explaining that construction activities could be distracting before they moved in, and some students still weren’t happy because they were getting woken up in the mornings, so we’re just going to … try to keep those vacant.”

Other East Campus buildings, like David’s Place and other dorms, will not be affected during construction.

According to Deter, the new parking garage will have about 2,000 spots, 600 more than the one near the Food Court at ReberThomas. Three entrances will lead to the garage — one from Liberty

Mountain Drive, one that connects to the parking lot near the sand volleyball courts and one from around David’s Place.

Deter hopes placing the ninestory garage in a convenient location will steer drivers toward East Campus. Its entrance will directly face the pedestrian tunnel, and a covered walkway will lead to the tunnel. “(The president) wanted to make the parking very convenient for those who choose to park in the garage,” Deter said. “What we’re trying to do overall is to get less vehicular traffic on main campus, so pedestrians are safer when they’re walking to class and all the things they do on campus.”

Deter said the university’s master vision is for someone to come to campus and never have to drive on Main Campus.

“That was the reason we had to target those two dorms,” Deter said. “It wasn’t anything against those dorms. I know they were really popular … but we had to look at it from a holistic standpoint of how we can keep the traffic on the east side of campus.”

While Deter believes pedestrians and traffic will not be impacted significantly during construction, drivers can expect a little more traffic than usual on East Campus.

Because the garage’s deck is precast concrete panels and columns, trucks will deliver it in pieces. Since each truck can only carry two or three pieces at a time, Deter expects there will be a high volume

Allison Heise| Liberty Champion

“

BRIGHT IDEA — The monogram will be illuminated until 11 p.m. every night.

Our whole university is getting more public eye … and it’s really satisfying to me to be part of the infrastructure on that.

— Dan Deter

of trucks to deliver the pieces.

“The way it’s really going to affect (traffic) is there’s an entrance coming in off Liberty Mountain Drive that we’ll probably have to have a flagman for,” Deter said.

Deter said the process has been rewarding.

“Our whole university is getting more public eye … and it’s really satisfying to me to be part of the

PARKING — The nine-story parking garage will hold 2,000 cars.

infrastructure on that, helping the campus evolve into something that I think has turned into something pretty spectacular,” Deter said.

VAN TUYL is the assistant content editor.

Photo Provided

content

Liberty Champion | April 2, 2019 | A7

Accrediting social work

Liberty’s Social Work Department defies expectations with new status Will Evans wjevans@liberty.edu

Before coming to Liberty, Christine Fulmer felt God had placed a calling on her life.

“The Lord put it on my heart years ago that he wanted me to change the face of social work for him,” Fulmer said.

When considering teaching at Liberty, her husband reminded her of the call and said, “Where else might you do that than at the world’s largest Christian university?”

“

ing more than 1,600 students.

This month, Fulmer and her staff celebrate another milestone, the Council on Social Work Education’s (CSWE) accreditation of the Bachelor of Science in Social Work through the year 2022.

“I am so proud of our team,” Fulmer said.

“It is a blessing from the Lord; … a lot of prayer and tears … went into this process.”

“Our faculty and staff worked so well together,” Fulmer said. “We have a beautiful team of GSAs and student workers. … They

What makes me so proud of my faculty and staff is people have all these stereotypes of what Liberty might be, and we shatter them.

— Christine Fulmer

Since becoming the chair of Liberty’s Social Work department, Fulmer witnessed the program grow from graduating eight students its second year to currently enroll-

Photo Provided

CHAIR — Christine Fulmer is the chair of Liberty’s Social Work Department.

all pulled together, and they wanted this.”

To receive accreditation, the social work program experienced rigorous evaluations called “benchmarks,” which included campus visits by scholars in the field. These site visitors were concerned about Liberty’s conservative beliefs and the impact they could have on social work education. They wondered if these beliefs would prohibit students from developing into competent social workers capable of working in all areas of social work practice.

Despite the evaluators’ admitted preconceived notions about a biblical approach to studying social work, Fulmer said it was the Christ-like attitude of the students and staff that won them over.

“The Lord was gracious, and we tried to glorify him every time we had a site visitor on campus,” Fulmer said. “And they loved our administration all three times … and our students. They were so impressed with our students.”

After the final self-evaluation, the CSWE voted on Liberty this past February, and the program received accreditation March 11.

“This accreditation is just the beginning,”

Gabrielle Calhoun| Liberty News Service

PROGRAM — Kenyon Knapp believes the program’s accreditation is just the beginning of the School of Behavioral Sciences’ vision.

Kenyon Knapp, dean of the School of Behavioral Sciences, said. “The vision they have for this program is massive, both national and international. … It’s already happening, and it’s totally going to keep coming.”

Fulmer said the value of this accreditation comes from the confidence it gives student in the quality of their education and in their work.

“There is something about being able to reach people with confidence,” Fulmer said.

“There are some people out there that don’t have accredited degrees … and even if the program was strong, they feel like their (degree is) less,” Fulmer said. “This legitimizes their degree.”

Through LU Send, the social work department has sent students to Spain, Greece, the Dominican Republic and Uganda to serve refugees and prevent human trafficking while gaining hands-on experience through study abroad programs.

“Fulmer and her team don’t only work in the states, but they go around the world,” Knapp said. “There is a graciousness to the social work faculty, and the people at the (CSWE) picked up on that.”

Looking forward to the future, Fulmer hopes to see a master’s and doctoral pro-

gram as well as continuing to defy expectations by being “the hands and feet of Jesus.”

“What makes me so proud of my faculty and staff is people have all these stereotypes of what Liberty might be, and we shatter them,” Fulmer said.

EVANS is a content reporter.

Kevin Manguiob| Liberty News Service

DEAN — Kenyon Knapp is the dean of the School

of Behavioral Sciences.

T DAY N E M S S E S S IVERSITY A

LIBERTY UN

3 L I R P A , Y A D S E N WED You will receive information from your school or department regarding morning activities.

Liberty.edu/ADay

Watch your email for details about afternoon surveys and focus groups.

Convocation, some labs, and all classes (except those that only meet once a week on Wednesdays) will be canceled.

Graduate students — check with your department for information about courses and activities.

Afternoon participants will be entered into a drawing for great prizes! Learn more at Liberty.edu/IESurveyOfficialRules.

content

A8 | April 2, 2019 | Liberty Champion

Three questions with Mayor Tweedy Lynchburg native Treney Tweedy serves as the mayor of Lynchburg. She grew up in Rivermont and graduated from E.C. Glass High School. Tweedy served in the United States military as a journalist and earned a bachelor’s degree in English from Lynchburg College in 1997. Tweedy was elected in 2018 and will serve until 2020.

1. How have you been able to impact the Lynchburg community through your position as mayor?

Hopefully, I think we are working to lessen our poverty rate here in our city. … I worked with the former mayor, and currently, I’m working with the current vice mayor, myself, and other council members to decrease the poverty rate and increase our household family median income (through the Bridges to Progress Initiative). …

So, hopefully, we are putting solutions together in order to solve this issue and a few others for the long term.

Provided by the City of Lynchburg

SERVING — Treney Tweedy calls for student involvement in the community during their college years.

ity of students who, one, have the passion to help, and, two, understand how to do ministry work is wonderful because it enables programs that need persons to volunteer.

3. Why should college students engage with the Lynchburg community?

I think it’s really important for one because they become a part of that community during that three or four years (they’re in college). They’re volunteering, they’re working, or maybe participating in internships. They add to our community base. …

We are also investing in creating more entrepreneurship opportunities and learning opportunities 2. How would you summarize the Bridges to here, especially for our college students. So, if they Progress Initiative? And how can Liberty stu- have a dream of starting a business, there is a pathdents get involved with the Bridges to Progress way here in Lynchburg. … We enjoy them, and they initiative? know us. So, the ability to plant roots here … in a I would say (the Bridges to Progress Initiative community that embraces their knowledge, their is) the opportunity to reduce poverty in our city passion — we just hope they want to grow with us. through collaboration and making systems and resources work for those persons who live in poverty. One thing that is really supportive is to have boots on the grounds. … Nonprofits or faith communities are often limited by the folks who are SMITH, a copy editor, interviewed Tweedy. available to support the effort. So, the availabil-

Andrew Snyder | Liberty News Service

COMMUNITY — Treney Tweedy believes students have much to add to the community.

Doubling down on driving Driver Awareness Day will encourage safety for pedestrians and drivers Jacqueline Hale jrhale1@liberty.edu

Liberty University’s Criminal Justice Club will partner with the Virginia State Police to host Driver Awareness Day April 6 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Thomas Road Baptist Church parking lot.

The event is open to the public and will include a distracted driver simulation, 18-wheeler simulator, a child safety seatbelt check and driver safety demonstrations involving seat belt safety and distracted driving. Virginia State Troopers, the Lynchburg City Fire and EMS, the Lynchburg City Police Department and the Youth of Virginia Speak Out About Traffic Safety (YOVASO) club at Heritage High School will also be there, among other local groups. Criminal Justice Club President Angelique Cushman, Vice President Felix Hernandez and Virginia State Trooper Brad Crews have been heading up this initiative.

Crews, who has been in-

volved with the Criminal Justice Club for multiple years, came to speak to the group in October to share his passion for driver awareness. The club partnered with Crews to form Driver Awareness Day, with the intention of increasing driver safety and awareness on Liberty’s campus and in the city of Lynchburg.

This awareness is twofold.

“We want to bring awareness to what’s going on inside the car, and … also what’s going on outside the car,” Cushman said. “(What) I see … happens a lot, especially with our generation, is not only do we drive distracted, but we walk around distracted as pedestrians.”

Cushman would specifically like to make Liberty students more aware of traffic safety, hoping to prevent accidents from happening in the first place.

“We’ve witnessed some amazing miracles here on campus, and a lot of that is the healing of the people who have been in these accidents, but the fact that these accidents have occurred in

the first place is something that is awful to see every time,” Cushman said.

While Liberty has been trying to regulate traffic safety by adding a new roundabout, as well as making a more direct, pedestrian-only path through campus, Cushman believes safety will improve as students become more aware of their role in traffic safety.

“Our goal is to face it more towards the students,” Cushman said. “We work as closely to LUPD as we can, … and we see what they have been doing, … but change has to come from both sides of the road, and we see change happening with the construction. We see that they’re trying to make the best changes they can, and we think it’s time for action on the other side of the road from the students.”

Heritage High School’s YOVASO club is also taking action.

“What we try to do is educate people about traffic safety, and we try to promote traffic safety in our school,” club advisor Stacy

Preston said.

These are the goals of the club at Heritage, which is run by Preston and the school resource officer Gerwin Thompson. The club is made up of over 40 high school students.

YOVASO is participating in the Arrive Alive campaign, put on by the YOVASO organization from March 18 through May 3. This campaign focuses on keeping teenagers safe while driving, specifically during the spring and summer months when teen driving accidents increase.

YOVASO students and leaders will be present at Driver Awareness Day in April and will have Arrive Alive materials available for more information.

“I think this is a huge event,” Cushman said. “It’s something that can start a huge change in the community, and this might not just end here.”

HALE is a content reporter.

Governor’s proposal Emily Wood ewood13@liberty.edu

Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam is amending a bill that would ban Virginia motorists from holding a cell phone while driving in a highway work zone.

The proposal means that holding a cell phone would be cause for a traffic stop and $250 fine.

The proposed legislation would not go into effect until 2020 to allow for a public education campaign and the training of law enforcement officers. The amended legislation will go back to lawmakers on April 3 and will require a simple majority in the House and Senate to pass. Sen. Richard Stuart said the proposal already has the support of a majority of senators.

FYI Distracted driving leads to 1.6 million crashes per year, according to The National Safety Council.

WOOD is a content reporter.

SPORTS

April 2, 2019

B1

Allison Heise | Liberty Champion

FRIENDLY COMPETITION — The football team’s defense dominated most of the game until offense finally caught up to win 38-34.

A springtime Freeze Flames Club and football team host annual March game and tailgate beforehand Paige Frost pmfrost@liberty.edu

Food, fun and football. That is what brought out families, students and even community members to William’s Stadium Saturday, March 30, for Liberty’s Spring Game, the first with Coach Hugh Freeze at the helm.

This year’s spring football scrimmage looked different. While it still included the interactive tailgate games for people to enjoy, the game play itself ran a different format.

The Liberty Flames football team followed a more traditional 12-minute quarters with a running clock until the final two minutes of each half.

“This fall will be the first year my family will be season ticket holders,” Cassandra Cantrell, a staff member with Liberty, said.

“We came out today because we love football, and it also had some fun stuff for our kids to do before the game.”

The tailgate festivities started at 11:30 a.m. Saturday morning and with that brought inflatable obstacle courses, giant connect four, corn hole, music, giveaways and even a juggler. Liberty cheerleaders were out in front of the stadium to give more information to attendees.

Attendees received free T-shirts, hats, coins and posters from Liberty’s inaugural year in the FBS. Free Zaxby’s was given out

to people in attendance before kickoff at 1 p.m. There were also giveaways that only students could enter.

“I am a big supporter of the team,” Liberty freshman Daniel Hamlet said. “I really like to see what they do, and the giveaways added to us coming. I am excited to see what the team has to offer this year.”

Flames senior quarterback Buckshot Calvert looked sharp and in command, showing Flames fans that their senior quarterback is prepared to play under a former SEC coach.

Calvert is reportedly receiving interest from multiple NFL scouts.

Flames senior linebacker Solomon Ajayi brought physicality to Saturday’s spring

game, igniting applause from the crowd multiple times following loud hits.

The red team played against the white team, offense versus defense. The white team, defense, started the game with 24 points. It was a game that would end with the red team, offense, winning 38-34.

Freeze said there are still areas where they can grow, but he was happy with the outcome.

“Something clicked defensively (this week),” Hugh Freeze said. “The first three weeks of spring, offense had their way, but something clicked, and the defense truly dominated the whole week.”

FROST is a sports reporter.

Sweeping UNF

COVERAGE

Baseball sweeps three-game series

AND FEATURES

Benjamin Craft bcraft2@liberty.edu

Junior infielder Trey McDyre stepped up to the plate in the bottom of the eighth inning with only 17 at-bats on the season, and the Liberty Flames trailing by a run with no one on base.

McDyre connected with the pitch and the wind carried the ball deeper and deeper as UNF’s right fielder ran backward. McDyre watched the ball leave the ballpark to a massive ovation.

“I think I got a fastball,” McDyre said. “The pitcher was really funky. We were

Ryan Klinker | Liberty Champion SWING — The Flames hit two home runs in the eighth inning Sunday.

WE’LL SEE YOU AT THE GAME

Softball vs.

Virginia April 2 @ 6 p.m.

really struggling to hit his stuff. Once I connected I knew I hit it hard, so I took off out the box. Fortunately, I watched the right fielder run out of room.”

This sequence started a five-run rally in the eighth inning to propel the Flames to a 6-2 win over the North Florida Ospreys Sunday, March 31.

Five of Liberty’s nine hits came in the eighth inning.

Two batters after McDyre tied the game, sophomore infielder Will Wagner launched another solo shot to put the Flames ahead of the Ospreys 3-2.

“A few swings before that, I was struggling,” Wagner said. “I had to step out and take a deep breath. I knew I could do it, and sure enough I got the barrel on the bat and watched it fly over the fence.”

After that, the Flames loaded the bases and junior infielder Ben Highfill, the second pinch hitter of the inning, cleared the bases with a double.

See SWEEPING, B4

W. tennis vs.

Stetson April 4 @ 11 a.m.

THIS WEEK

Women’s tennis hosted its first ASUN home win Saturday 4-3 over Lipscomb.

B2

Star tennis transfer Nicaise Muamba is featured for his hard work and versatility on the court.

B2

Ryan Klinker | Liberty Champion

SUNNY — Flames freshman pitcher Noah Skirrow struck out eight batters Sunday afternoon vs UNF.

Lacrosse vs.

Minnesota April 5 @ 11:59 p.m.

Softball vs.

Stetson April 6 @ 1 p.m., 3 p.m.

Men’s lacrosse scraped out a lastsecond win over University of South Carolina Saturday.

B3 Women’s lacrosse junior Jenna Joyal is featured for her focus on the field and teamhigh scoring.

B3

sports

B2 | April 2, 2019 | Liberty Champion

Joel Isimeme | Liberty News Service

SERVICE — Senior Anna Dollar helped the team to its 4-3 win over Lipscomb.

ASUN-y day victory Joel Isimeme| Liberty News Service

VICTORIOUS — Tennis sophomore Nicaise Muamba has a 21-11 record in singles and 16-9 record in doubles.

Double down Tennis transfer owns the court Peter Gooch pgooch1@liberty.edu

The majority of transfer student-athletes are designated to a transition period of time to adjust to their new surroundings and learn about their new team and environment.

Liberty Flames men’s tennis phenomenon Nicaise Muamba is not like most transfer students.

Transferring to Liberty University after one year at the University of Tennessee, Muamba has developed into a differencemaker for the Flames this season, with a 2111 record in singles and 16-9 personal mark in doubles. “(Muamba) sets a great example and raises the bar for everyone on a daily basis,” Liberty Head Coach Derek Schwandt said. “At practice (and) in the matches, he’s the guy that’s

“There’s two areas that we work on … discipline and being a great teammate,” Schwandt said. “Nicaise is our leader in both of those areas. I just want to see him continue to lead in those areas.”

Muamba said he wants to build his discipline, as well as continue his improvement in taking care of his body and creating healthy habits off the court, among other things.

“On the court, (my goal is) going out there and trying to have fun,” Muamba said.

“That’s why I started playing the game — because I love it.”

Playing tennis with a sense of joy, passion and excitement because of love for the game describes not only Muamba, but it also embodies his regular doubles’ teammate, junior Chase Burton.

The duo have won 11 of 17 games together.

“Almost every time we have good energy,

Joel Isimeme | Liberty News Service

TALENTED — Muamba transferred from Tennessee last year. focused and playing disciplined and bringing the energy every day.”

Muamba, a sophomore, captured his fourth player-of-the-week award from the ASUN Conference March 20. He recently received a national ranking of 101st among all men’s singles players, which is highest in the conference.

“I’m just going week by week, trying to focus on every match we have and trying to do my best in every match we have,” Muamba said.

As the regular season for tennis begins winding down, Schwandt and the Flames (8-9, 2-0 in conference play) have set their sights on securing a berth in the NCAA Singles Tournament for Muamba and an NCAA tournament appearance for the team.

Muamba would obtain an invitation to the singles tournament if he maintained his spot atop the conference, while the entire team would gain entrance into the NCAA Tournament if they won the ASUN Men’s Tennis Championships taking place in DeLand, Florida, April 18-20.

For both the individual and the team to reach their goals, Schwandt said Muamba and Liberty must heed the two primary focuses the coaching staff has emphasized this season.

so we always bring it,” Muamba said. “It’s been really fun playing with Chase. He’s a great guy, he’s a great leader (and) he’s one of our captains, so it’s been really fun.”

The camaraderie Muamba has felt with Burton mirrors the larger sense of team chemistry Muamba has enjoyed at Liberty.

While there were multiple factors in Muamba deciding to leave Tennessee, he pointed to the atmosphere of Liberty as a primary reason for leaving his previous school.

“It’s been really great being on the team with all these guys,” Muamba said. “We all appreciate each other and we’re like a family. … Every sport is pretty close to each other, so it’s kind of a big family.”

The adjustment in joining the Flames family after starting elsewhere turned out to not be very difficult for Muamba. He is thriving at Liberty and striving to continue his tremendous influence on the team.

“I feel like he was supposed to be here,” Schwandt said. “The Lord brought him here, and he’s been great.”

Women’s tennis hosts home win Christian Weaner crweaner@liberty.edu

The morning rain was not enough to put out the Lady Flames fire Saturday, March 30, as the women’s tennis team battled to a 4-3 victory over the Lipscomb Lady Bisons. The match was the team’s first home ASUN match in school history and marked the 100th career win for Head Coach Jeff Maren.

Following a 45-minute delay while the grounds crew dried the courts, Liberty fought to claim its 10th win of the season.

Saturday’s competition was the second home match of the season for the Lady Flames and the first since Feb. 2. After 14 straight away matches, the Lady Flames were glad to play in Lynchburg again. “(Being home) felt good,” Maren said. “I am sure the girls enjoyed sleeping in their own beds. It’s kind of a grind knowing you are traveling so much. (Playing at home) gave us a little bit of a jumpstart today.”

The Lady Flames came out playing well against a Lady Bisons team who had won six straight matches since March 1.

In doubles, Lipscomb’s Zika Dzyuba and Kate Popova entered the match as one of the dominant doubles pairing in the entire ASUN. They saw their 10-match-winning streak come to an end at the hands of Lady Flames Maria Medina and Lara Soares.

Dzyuba and Popova battled back after trailing 2-0 to win a deuce in the sixth game and force a tie at 3-3. Medina and Soares regained control and won three straight games to take the set 6-3.

“We were doing a lot of research … because we knew it was going to be a tough match,” Medina said. “We just brought it today. We brought the intensity and played really

well together. The chemistry between us is great and that helped a lot today.”

Medina and Soares, Liberty’s top doubles pairing, have played together since last season. The duo developed a friendship off the court that has helped strengthen their play together.

“We are both from South America; (Soares) is from Brazil, and I am from Venezuela,” Medina said. “The cultures are very similar, and we were roommates, so we know each other very well.

Our intensity and how much we care about tennis is at the same level.”

3-2, but Medina capped off the match victory for Liberty with a 7-5, 6-2 victory over Liza Diachenko.

Winning the clinching match was relieving for Medina. The senior leads the team with a 19-7 singles record, but one loss came in the clinching match of the Lady Flames 4-3 defeat to Florida Gulf Coast earlier this season.

“It feels good to be in that situation and be able to overcome it and have a different result than the first one,” Medina said.

Liberty’s No. 5 freshman Alexandra Almborg fought through a leg injury in the second set to keep pace in her singles match but retired once Being home felt good. the overall match had been decided.

I’m sure the girls After the match, AsCoach Giancarlo enjoyed sleeping in sistant Lemmi presented Martheir own beds. en with an honorary tennis ball to commemorate — Jeff Maren the seventh-year head coach achieving 100 career victories.

The Lady Flames second “I just appreciate being doubles pairing looked dif- able to coach each match,” ferent than usual Saturday. Maren said. “I do not think Kalani Soli’s typical partner, so much about how many Grace Hashiguchi, missed matches I won, but about the match due to sickness, so the fact that I have coached Soli was joined by freshman in all these matches, wins Alexandra Almborg instead. and losses, and we have Despite playing together been able to do it together for the first time, Alm- as a group. We just hapborg and Soli were able to pened to have won more capitalize on one another’s than we lost.” strengths to win their set 6-3 With the victory, Liberty and clinch the doubles point improves its record to 10-6 for Liberty. overall and 3-1 in the ASUN, “Alex is a really good base- while Lipscomb falls to 13-4 line player, and she really and 2-1 in conference play. suites my game with setting Their next match is Thursme up at the net,” Soli said. day, April 4 against Stetson, “Our game styles match and who defeated FGCU 4-3 that is how we came out with Saturday and is also 10-6 on the win today.” the season.

Soli continued to play well “(The home games) really in singles play. She breezed help us because we are goto the first singles victory ing to have some really diffor the Lady Flames with set ficult matches coming up,” wins of 6-1 and 6-2 to put Maren said. “To have any Liberty ahead 2-0 overall. kind of advantage is a good Shortly after Soli’s win, thing and playing at home is senior Anna Dollar finished definitely an advantage. We off a 6-1, 6-1 route in the are going to need to have sixth spot to move the lead to that homecourt advantage to 3-0 for the Lady Flames. make a statement this year.”

The Lady Bisons got 6-0, 6-2 and 6-4, 6-0 triumphs from Dzyuba and Madeleine WEANER is a sports Brooks to move the match to reporter.

“

Joel Isimeme | Liberty News Service

GOOCH is a sports reporter.

LOVE — Senior Maria Medina transferred to Liberty from State College of Florida.

sports

Liberty Champion | April 2, 2019 | B3

To the last Flames lacrosse defeats South Carolina 12-11

against USC, including a playoff loss in the SELC tournament last year, Liberty started the game with a point to prove. Head Coach The men’s lacrosse team stunned the Uni- Kyle McQuillan knew coming into the game versity of South Carolina Gamecocks with that USC would serve as a barometer for Liba last-gasp winner in the final 10 seconds erty’s progress. of Saturday’s game, March 30, grinding “We definitely had confidence and we out a 12-11 win after a tightly-contested know we’re a good team, but to be fair, I clash between the two nationally-ranked thought this was our first really big test,” heavyweights.

McQuillan said. “We know what type of team Though their one-goal margin of vic- USC is – it was a team that beat us twice, both tory was their smallest of the season, No. 3 in the regular season, and that knocked us Liberty (10-0) remains undefeated as No. 6 out of the playoffs last year.”

USC (9-2) fell in a dramatic second defeat Liberty started the game brightly, scorof the year. The game saw five lead changes ing three unanswered goals in the first in a frantic second half, but the Flames ulti- quarter as USC struggled to transition mately proved too hot for the Gamecocks to out of defense. USC dominated much of handle, with midfielder C.J. Nichols slam- the possession through faceoff specialming home the decisive goal to send the ist Derek Isaac’s control of the faceoff, fans into a frenzy. but the first quarter ended with Liberty Having lost their previous two games leading 3-0.

Even with Isaac’s success, USC continued to waste possessions and attackman Caleb Britton soon capitalized, flicking in a backhanded shot to give Liberty a fourgoal advantage.

But less than a minute later, USC responded with its first goal of the game as midfielder Griffin Giles dragged in a shot with 7:52 left in the half. McQuillan knew USC’s possession advantage could easily shift the balance of the game.

“We got dominated at the faceoff – we kept giving them the ball back after goals, so probably the biggest weakness in today’s game was our effectiveness at the faceoff X,” McQuillan said. “We just continued to give them opportunities to get back into the game. I thought that if we could just split those faceoffs 50-50, I felt we would be able to pull away and create some distance, but (we kept) giving them the ball after Ryan Klinker | Liberty Champion every single goal.”

ATTACK — Senior Charles Wright lined up a shot.

Giles’s goal sparked a revival John Nekrasov ydnekrasov@liberty.edu

Emily Baker egbaker@liberty.edu

Your favorite athletics team is not a personality trait.

A personality trait is defined as a person’s patterns of thought, feelings and behaviors, as defined by the Diener Education Fund.

Common traits can include introversion versus extroversion or optimism versus pessimism. There are all kinds of personality tests, from the Myers-Briggs to the Enneagram to the Big Five test to define your personality.

A preference between the Warriors versus the Cavaliers, on the other hand, is not a personality trait. You do not have an Enneagram type 12 because you love Tom Brady more than any other player, or an ABTC Myers-Briggs type for “Anything But The Cowboys.”

Sports are intended for entertainment, but they have been taken much further than that. People have made their favorite teams a part of their identity and the outcome of games and seasons a part of their emotional well-being.

There’s little more annoying to me than someone who keeps their favorite athletics team in their social media bios along with other traits or major parts of their life, such as their relationship or their job or whatever else they keep on there.

Rooting for your favorite teams and players is an integral aspect of sports, but your arbitrary preference in players, the colors on their jerseys and their location should not define you.

I’ve been told in a previous relationship that not rooting for my significant other’s favorite teams and college would be a legitimate deal breaker. Before that, I wasn’t aware that a completely arbitrary preference for a sports team had such a severe impact on my desirability as a person or my character (It doesn’t).

There are countless videos of fans beating each other up or of dads throwing bowls

of chips across the room because his favorite Steelers lost (Sorry, Chad).

Sports fans can be nasty people, and it’s all because their team lost a game or had a bad season. For a team that has no actual effect on their person and a game or season that will never alter the trajectory of their life.

It’s important to stop taking sports so seriously, and to stop melding your identity with your favorite team.

This isn’t to say that it’s bad to be a sports fan. I love sports and I have my favorite teams and a couple of favorite sports. But I do not identify as a sports fanatic, or as a Liberty fan or Jason Witten fan.

I don’t let the outcome of a game bring me down, and I don’t hold onto one or two wins to give myself bragging rights until the next season. It’s a terrible way to live, basing your happiness off of a game you have no control over and basing it upon a team that will make mistakes and will lose.

Because, unlike a job or a person or a relationship with Christ, you will receive no fulfilment or joy from watching a football team win. There is no reward in watching your team win a game you’ll likely forget in a few weeks, and there is no benefit to being identified by your favorite sports team.

I’ll repeat it again for the people in the back: your favorite sports team is not a personality trait.

BAKER is the sports editor.

Ryan Klinker | Liberty Champion

STRIKE — Sophomore C.J. Nichols took the game-winning shot with seconds left. for the Gamecocks as they launched on a 5-1 run, tying the game at 5-5 before halftime as Liberty’s momentum collapsed. Nichols saw that the team needed to change its mentality to reimpose itself on the game.

“We need to not be stagnant,” Nichols said. “The last three games we came out kind of feeling that we’re the big dog on top of the mountain, and what makes us lethal is being that dog at the bottom of the hill really fighting to get to the top – we need that mindset back to really push us through.”

The second half started slowly, with both teams trading ineffective possessions, but with 5:58 left in the third quarter, freshman attackman Cooper Branham finally broke the deadlock for Liberty with his second goal of the night.

Liberty seemed to have found its rhythm, but 34 seconds later, Giles opened the floodgates for USC with an arrow into the top corner, before attackman Jono Durham scored two rapid-fire goals within 14 seconds, leaving Liberty reeling.

Suddenly down 8-6, the Flames needed an inspiration. That inspiration came in the form of midfielder Derrick Esh. Receiving the ball on the right side of the crease, Esh juked once, then twice, leaving his defender sprawled on the ground as he rifled a shot past the goalie to cut Liberty’s deficit to one.

With 20 seconds left in the third quarter, Britton added his second goal of the night to level the game at 8-8. Britton believes Liberty’s team ethic is what sets it apart in these dramatic moments.

“(It’s) just confidence, trust in each other, knowing that even in these hard matchups, we’re going to be able to pull together and come out with the win,” Britton said.

Liberty and USC continued to trade goals, but neither side could extend its lead, with the game poised at 11-11 entering the last three minutes.

USC charged down the field and nearly slammed in a go-ahead goal, but Liberty goalie Brayden Harriman saved brilliantly, winning possession for Liberty to set up the game’s dramatic finish. With eight seconds left on the clock, Nichols sealed Liberty’s 12-11 win with the last shot of the game, sizing up his defender at the halfway line before powering past him to blast home the winner.

In a timeout before the goal, Nichols had already decided he would score, and his confidence reflects the spirit of this Liberty team as it moves toward the playoffs.

“Before I stepped on the field, I said, ‘My knee hurts too bad – we’re not going to overtime, I’m just going to end it,’” Nichols said.

“I went through there and got the matchup I wanted. They kind of pushed me to the side I wanted, and it opened up. I let it fly and just prayed to God that it’d go in.”

After Saturday’s victory, the Flames next play at home against the University of Minnesota April 5 in this year’s Midnight Mayhem game.

NEKRASOV is a sports reporter.

sports

B4 | April 2, 2019 | Liberty Champion

Lacrosse Joyal-ty Women’s lacrosse junior dominates across several sports committed to Liberty University on scholarship for lacrosse in 2016. But once she set foot on campus, she decided to undertake a challenge.

Lady Flames Junior Jenna Joyal has grown Joyal spent her freshman and sophomore familiar with sports throughout her life due years competing for the lacrosse team and to having three athletic brothers. the diving team, a rarity at the collegiate level.

“Sports were the thing to do,” Joyal said. One would think that balancing a social life, “I think I’ve pretty much tried every sport.” two sports and her major of Interdisciplinary Joyal excelled at lacrosse, diving and field Studies would be exhausting. hockey in her time at Canterbury Preparatory However, Joyal said that balancing these School in New Milford, Connecticut, and commitments was not as stressful as it seems.

“I think it was easier in a sense because I knew I would be juggling more, so I had to stay focused,” Joyal said. “I had everyone behind me supporting me and helping in any way I needed.”

Swimming and diving coach Jake Shellenberger was one person who was behind Joyal. When Joyal expressed interest in joining the team in the 2016-17 season, Shellenberger was thrilled to accept her. The problem was Liberty did not KJ Jugar| Liberty News Service have an official divFOCUSED — Jenna Joyal has earned several ASUN honors, including ing coach, team or Player of the Week and Offensive Player of the Week. sufficient facilities John Simmons jasimmons2@liberty.edu

to accommodate a diving team at the time.

This hurts a swim team’s scoring at a meet. A team earns points through their placement in individual and team events, but if a team has no divers, they will automatically be in a 32-0 deficit. Joyal helped make up some of the deficit, and recorded team-best scores in one-meter and three-meter diving.

Joyal also earned CCSA Diver of the Week honors her freshman year and was Joel Isimeme| Liberty News Service one of Liberty’s top divers her two years on STRONG — Joyal has played several different the team. sports over the years, even in college.

Shellenberger said even with little resources and her already intense workload, team.

Joyal’s commitment to the diving team was “Jenna is a great teammate,” Nangle said. remarkable.

“She holds people accountable and she says “Her attitude about it was fantastic,” Shel- what she has to say in practice. ... She wants lenberger said. “She was always pleasant and what’s best for the team all the time.” always had a positive attitude. We wish she The Flames currently sit atop the ASUN still wanted to do it.” conference standings with a 9-2 record and Joyal said she enjoyed her diving experi- riding a five-game win streak. Coach Nangle ence, but eventually she was maxed out from said this year’s squad has all the pieces to put committing to both programs. together a historical run for the program.

“Last year I don’t think I’ve ever missed “Our expectation is to win a (conference) out on more sleep,” Joyal said. “I was going championship,” Nangle said. “I think that’s from morning practices at 5 a.m. for lacrosse said a lot of times in a lot of programs, but I to classes, and then I had afternoon practices think the difference with this group is they three days a week for diving.” believe it. That’s how they are approaching This season, Joyal fully committed to play- every single game.” ing lacrosse, the sport she was recruited for.

Joyal said the team’s camaraderie will She is a terror on the attack, tallying 23 goals guide the team to success once the conferand 6 assists this season. In the Flames 21-6 ence tournament begins. rout of the Stetson Hatters, Joyal notched a “Were competitive, but we have the best hat trick to compliment three assists, a per- sportsmanship,” Joyal said. “Our spirits formance that helped her earn ASUN co- never get down, and that keeps pushing us player of the week March 26. every day.

Women’s lacrosse Coach Kelly Nangle said Joyal’s talent is amazing, but the intan- SIMMONS is a sports gibles she brings are equally important to the reporter.

Ryan skates in Russia Hockey junior tackles World University Games Jacob Couch jtcouch@liberty.edu

As a middle schooler in New Jersey, goalie Quinn Ryan allowed 12 goals in his first game as a starter. Now as a junior in college Ryan lived out a dream by playing against professional hockey players in the World University Games in

Krasnoyarsk, Russia.

Collegiate scouts traveled around the world in 2018-19, searching for each country’s highest caliber athletes to select for the World University Games. What the scouts found at Liberty was a 5’9” 170-pound forward who played the game with the heart of a lion.

Gabrielle Calhoun | Liberty News Service REDEYE — Ryan returned for Liberty’s playoff run.

Ryan accepted the privileged invitation and flew to Russia. The long plane trip was composed of connecting flights from New York to Moscow and then from Moscow to Krasnoyarsk, Siberia.

“I got to meet a lot of different people from different countries which was really neat,” Ryan said. “It was just a fun experience all around.”

Ryan explained that each country was given its own building to stay in within the village that was designated for the World University Games athletes.

While in Russia, team USA defeated Hungary and Japan while they fell to Slovakia and Russia.

Ryan’s hockey career has been filled with exciting moments and incredible memories. But none so memorable as the junior forward’s opportunitytoplayagainstTeamRussia on Russian soil.

“Just the ability to play Russia in Russia was an experience I’ll never forget,” Ryan said. “It was a packed house.

Ryan and team USA were downed 3-2 by the Russians who

SWEEPING continued from B1

Ryan Klinker | Liberty Champion

STRONG — The Flames have started strong in their first season in the ASUN.

“The bench did good giving our guys a lot of energy,” McDyre said. “It helped our guys feel confident when they were put in the game.”

The Flames completed a weekend sweep of UNF, getting consistently good performances out of their starting pitchers.

“We got four quality starts out of our pitchers this week,” Head Coach Scott Jackson said. “That’s hard to do in college baseball. I can probably count on one hand the number of times I remember that happening.

We’ve done a great job of preventing opportunities.”

The starting pitcher who led the way for the Flames in their latest game was freshman southpaw Joseph Adametz. Adametz finished the game with a career-high seven strikeouts in six innings of work, allowing two

attempted 50 shots on goal opposed to team USA’s 26.

The talent that the Russian team possessed was one of the reasons why the experience was so invigorating for Ryan.

“They had some big boys on their team for sure,” Ryan said. A lot of them played in the KHL Jessie Rogers | Liberty News Service (Kontinental Hockey League). They had one TALENT — Ryan led the Flames with 38 points guy who played a game in this season. the NHL. So, they were really good. But just being able senior looks ahead to his future.

“I definitely would be interested to play for your country and wear those colors is something special in playing after (school),” Ryan said. “There’s a ton of professional and something I’ll never forget.”

Ryan missed the conclusion of leagues out there which is cool. the Flames regular season but was There’s a lot of opportunity.”

Ryan led the Flames with able to return in time for the team’s trip to Dallas, Texas where they fell 38 points in the 2018-19 sea4-3 in the second round of the play- son and will look to have anoffs to No. 1 ranked Lindenwood other stellar year in 2019-20 as his professional career nears.

University.

Although the Flames season did not end the way they hoped, next season has the potential to be sig- COUCH is the assistant nificant for Ryan as the soon-to-be sports editor.

runs on five hits. Adametz’s performance lowered his ERA to 3.79 in seven appearances this season.

Junior right-handed pitcher Garret Price picked up his fourth win of the season with two innings pitched and one hit allowed. Sophomore outfielder Brandon Rohrer and freshman Jaylen Guy both went 2-4 from the plate on the day.

The Flames are now 5-1 in the Atlantic Sun, and an impressive 17-2 in home games this season. They have won five consecutive games since falling to NJIT March 23.

Liberty’s next ASUN series takes place next weekend, April 5-7, when they travel to face the North Alabama Lions in a three-game series.

They have not played the Lions yet this season.

CRAFT is a sports reporter.

Ryan Klinker | Liberty Champion

OUTS — Senior Tyler Galazin tags a UNF player.

feature

Liberty Champion | April 2, 2019 | B5

Where RV going now?

Liberty alumni couple bought first home on wheels, traveling the country Kharen Martinez-Murcia kmartinez6@liberty.edu

“It all started as a joke,” Kim Johnson said, reminiscing on how she and her husband ditched the average post-graduate life in favor of living full-time in an RV. As Kim Osborne and then-fiancé Curtis Johnson both prepared to graduate from Liberty University and the pressures of college came off their shoulders, they considered living a more unconventional lifestyle.

They asked themselves how realistic it would be to live in an RV, and then they sought the opinion of others. Most of their mentors had the same answer: do it.

The Johnsons graduated in May 2018 and got married a few months later. During the fall of 2018, Kim and Curtis Johnson bought a 1976 Airstream Sovereign on Craigslist and spent many hours renovating it, preparing the old vehicle for 2019. They planned to visit the West Coast using the RV. “(The RV) is a round silver bean; it looks like a burrito from chipotle. We just love it,” Kim Johnson said. “We are really passionate about people, our marriage and Jesus, and so we have just found out that living in an RV lets us really embrace those things.”

The Johnsons spent the first few months of marriage preparing the RV for the adventure ahead. Finally, after putting on the final touches, the couple began their adventure to the West Coast in February.

The couple’s first stop was Liberty University where they parked in zone four. Friends living on campus even came to visit. They said it was a good start to their journey.

“It was so fun,” Kim Johnson said. “We were so nervous about hitting the road that we just took the familiar route from Curtis’ house to Liberty, and tons of our friends

“

came and visited us, and they were such cheerleaders for us and gave us a springboard to leave on our journey.”

Living in an RV does come with challenges. Curtis Johnson said the biggest challenge was not having one-on-one community, as well as the technical difficulties that come along the way, such as not having a consistent water supply. For Kim Johnson, the challenge is not knowing where they are going to sleep that night.

“You have to make adjustments each and

I like to say that people who (live) full-time (in an) RV are either retired people or rock climbers. ...We are not either of those things.

— Kim Johnson every day based on your circumstances,” Curtis Johnson said.

With a 31-foot camper as a living space, they have embraced a minimalist lifestyle.

They decided that having extra things was getting in the way of achieving their goal for their year living in the RV. “I think that desire (of minimalism) did not fuel this lifestyle,” Curtis Johnson said.

“It is something that came as a result, so that desire started with starting this lifestyle and realizing that you really don’t need as much as you think.”

The day-to-day looks different than what people would regularly foresee for a pair of recent graduates and recently married young people, but they said it has been a rewarding decision.

“We don’t go to day jobs,” Curtis Johnson said. “We are definitely outside a lot more.

We are forced to interact with more people and ask people for help sometimes.”

They have already hit 10 states together,

and they are on the way for more this year.

The Johnsons said it is an experience that has allowed them to not only see the changing landscape and journey through the United States, but to grow in their marriage.

“After experiencing RVing, I want to do it for the rest of my life, even if it’s just during the summer if we go to a two-month trip with our kids,” Kim Johnson said. “I want my (future) kids to experience what we had.”

By living on the road, Kim and Curtis Johnson said they have met many different people and experienced a lifestyle unusual for many people.

“I like to say that people who (live) fulltime (in an) RV are either retired people or rock climbers,” Kim Johnson, who has her own photography business, said. “So, we are not either of those things. It is kind of random that we are doing it, but it has been awesome.”

Follow along with the Johnsons’ adventures on Instagram at @just.hitched.

MARTINEZ-MURCIA is a feature reporter.

Photo Provided

JUST HITCHED — The Johnsons tied the knot Sept. 2018 and began their adventure.

REVAMPED — The couple renovated an RV they found on Craigslist.

Photo Provided

Cornering the market Corner Burger boasts delicious, quality ingredients Nate Montgomery nimontgomery@liberty.edu

Grass-finished beef.

This is what sets Corner Burger apart from other burger joints in the Lynchburg area.

While grass-fed beef has gained popularity, grass-fed cows can still be fed grain in addition to their grass diet.

However, grass-finished beef is strictly grass-fed and not fed any grain to fatten them up.

Corner Burger, located in Forest, has been open for nearly two years and has started to gain a reputation for some of the highest quality burgers in the area. Corner Burger’s owner Kent Wood made it his personal goal to take his burgers to the next level.

“Every part of our burger is special and unique,” Wood said. “We are the only place in this area that you can buy a grass-finished

burger. We get all of our cheeses from grass fed dairy cows and our buns are baked fresh in Harrisonburg and sent to us a couple times a week.”

Corner Burger has been open for nearly two years and has started to gain a reputation for some of the highest quality burgers in the area. Corner Burger’s owner Kent Wood made it his personal goal to take his burgers to the next level.

Wood is very passionate about his burgers and spoke in detail about the quality of his products. Everything is cooked fresh, there is not even a freezer in the store other than the small undercounter freezer storing ice cream.

Crafted burgers include the Corner Classic with grass fed beef, Homestead cheddar, iceberg, tomato, onions, pickles, corner sauce for $10 to the Southern Charm with grass fed

beef, smoked Gouda pimento cheese, fried green tomato, thick cut bacon for $13. All burgers come on a locally baked bun and are served with hand-cut fries.

Diners can top off a meal with a shake made from Homestead Creamery ice cream in the classic flavors of strawberry or chocolate or go for the Oreo cookies and cream or the caramel coffee espresso for $6.

Corner Burger did not stop with delicious and healthy burgers — all their products are high quality and sourced locally, when they can be.

“Everything, our straws, packaging and cups are all biodegradable,” Wood said.

“Unfortunately doing the right thing is often more expensive and so we are not a really cheap place, but we provide a significantly better product.”

Wood said every time he travels, he always tries to

Taryn Azimov | Liberty Champion

LOCAL — Corner Burger is located on Lynchburg Salem Turnpike in Forest.

find a good local burger joint to scout out new and creative ways to improve Corner Burger.

Asa Keimig, a Liberty graduate, is the creative content manager at Corner Burger. Keimig was hired earlier this year to help improve Corner Burger’s presence in Forest and surrounding areas.

“I’ve been a fan of Corner Burger since day one,” Keimig said. “Given their unique location, they’re literally a hole-in-the-wall restaurant that not many people know about. A hidden gem as I like to tell others.”

According to Wood, Corner Burger is about to finish its best month since opening in 2017.

“You usually get your best month within the first few months of opening,” Wood said. “It has just been slowly growing and growing, and we love it.”

Wood said initial visibil-

Photo Provided

JUICY — Burgers are served with hand-cut fries. ity was an issue because of the unique location of the restaurant.

“Corner Burger offers an incredible farm-to-table experience for every person that walks through their doors,” Keimig said.

“There are so many people in the Lynchburg community that have never experienced that simply because they don’t know that Corner Burger exists.”

Hours are 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday. It is closed on Sunday.

From campus, head west on 460 until you come to the light at Thomas Jefferson Drive. Turn right and the hole-in-the-wall location is between Food Lion and Dominos. For take out orders call 434-616-2770.

MONTGOMERY is a feature reporter.

Tayrn Azimov| Liberty Champion

FRESH — Owner Kent Wood uses only grass-finished beef, never frozen.

feature

B6 | April 2, 2019 | Liberty Champion

The star of the show

LU student and current Miss Richmond proceeds to Miss Virginia competition Victoria Nelson vfnelson@liberty.edu

M

ia Nelson whispers a prayer as she finishes tying her ballet slippers. Smoothing out her dress, she takes a deep breath and peeks behind the heavy velvet curtain, watching her competitor play Fur Elise on the grand piano. The musician finishes, curtsying to deafening applause.

As the competitor returns backstage, the women offer each other encouraging smiles.

Nelson looks out into the audience and spots the panel of judges.

The lights seem blinding, but she has never felt more clear-headed.

The announcer calls her name for the talent section of the pageant, and she repeats a tiny mantra to herself: “Be still and know that he is God.” She smiles and struts to the dance floor.

While some actively avoid the spotlight, Nelson has never had any qualms about the attention. Since her freshman year of high school, she has sauntered across stages, served her community, and tried to show the love of Christ in front of judges.

A Georgia native, Nelson won local pageants before being crowned Miss Kennesaw’s Outstanding Teen, her first competition in the Miss American organization.

Now, she has her eyes on the prize. She will be competing in the Miss Virginia pageant this June — and if she wins that, she will go on to compete for the title of Miss America.

As nerve-wracking as this competition is, Nelson has faith that she

is doing the job for which she was created. Like the original pageant queen, Esther of the Old Testament, perhaps Nelson was also created “for such a time as this.”

“This is what the Lord has called me to do, whether I win or not,” Nelson said. “My whole goal is to advance God’s kingdom and the gospel.”

God has kept her humble throughout the process. With every win and loss, every victory and setback, Nelson is reminded of her purpose. She loves winning, but her job — and the job of Miss Virginia — is to serve others.

“I want to live out the job of Miss Virginia every day of my life,” Nelson said.

“

This is what the Lord has called me to do, whether I win or not. ... My whole goal is to advance God’s kingdom and the gospel.

— Mia Nelson It has not always been an easy road. She admits it is quite difficult to be picked apart by people who are literally there to judge her.

However, knowing her identity and relationship with Jesus Christ gives her reassurance, no matter the outcome of each pageant.

Practice makes perfect. The talent section of the competition is worth 50 percent of the overall

points, so Nelson rehearses her ballet for several hours every week.

She also participates in mock interviews to prepare herself for any questions that could throw her offkilter. Whoever wins Miss Virginia must have a solid platform that promotes “polished, good character,” according to Nelson. After careful thought and consideration, she decided on her platform.

Nelson’s goal is to show every girl that her identity and value are in Jesus Christ. She hopes to promote a message of acceptance, love, and hope through her actions.

She wants to give the Living Water to those who thirst, the “abundant life” to those who are dying.

“I want girls to know that they are beloved and should know their value,” Nelson said. “Every girl is valued, important and indispensable. I want to make that a part of my life every single day.”

Withstanding the pressure of constantly being judged for appearance and heart takes an emotional toll, but Nelson improved from the stress. Pressure, after all, creates diamonds and pearls. “(Pageanting) makes me better,” Nelson said. “I learn from every competition. It’s a journey of selfdiscovery, to see how I’ve come so far.”

In the end, the decision is not in her hands. All she can do is “let the Lord do his thing.”

Pageanting can be tricky. It is easy to abandon beliefs in favor of what the judges would prefer to hear, but Nelson said the best plan is to be authentic and stand up for personal beliefs. Be open.

Though pageant life can be difficult, Nelson said any woman can compete. All a contestant needs are thick skin and a desire to make a difference. Integrity, courage

Photo Provdied CELEBRATE — Although being judged is a challenge, Nelson’s faith

shines through as she uses her platform to uplift girls.

and perseverance are all helpful qualities.

More than anything, Nelson wants to be used for the glory of God. She stressed that it is ultimately not about the crown and praise. Rather, it is about what she can do to serve her community.

“I truly want people to know how valued they are,” Nelson said.

To keep her head and priorities straight, Nelson says a sacrificial prayer: “Lord, if it ever becomes about me, take it away.” She wants nothing to do with it if God is not at the forefront. Even if he does take it away, she knows he has bigger and better plans in store.

“This is beyond me,” Nelson said. “Even if I don’t win a title, I’ll walk away with friends. I can spread my platform. My actions have an eternal impact, whether I win or not.”

The Miss Virginia pageant will be held June 16-22 at the Center for Music and the Worship Arts at Liberty University.

NELSON is a feature reporter.

feature

Liberty Champion | April 2, 2019 | B7

Serving with a smile

Bernice Hotaling has worked with Liberty community for more than four decades couple’s three children while Frank Hotaling attended school, but Frank Hotaling unexpectedly became sick For longer than many students and staff with a disease in his members at Liberty University have been bloodstream that would alive, Bernice Hotaling has been faithfully destroy his aortic valve coming to work every day. She sits down at four times. Paralyzed her desk each morning ready to assist anyone from the disease, Frank calling into the university’s switchboard.

Hotaling could no lonHotaling, who is currently working on ger work to provide for her 43rd year as a Liberty/TRBC employee, his family. moved to the small Central Virginian town of “I had no experiLynchburg in 1974 to accompany her husence,” Bernice Hotalband Frank Hotaling who attended school ing said. “We got marat Liberty, known at the time as Lynchburg ried right out of high Baptist College. school. I’d always been “I remember when I came here I thought a stay-at-home wife. My ‘I’ll be so glad when Frank graduates school.’ husband always proI didn’t like Lynchburg at all,” Bernice Hovided well for me. Then A llison H eise | L iberty C hampion taling said. “I was just counting the days ‘till he got sick, and we had HONORED — Bernice Hotaling held her certificate for her 40 he graduated, and then he got sick.” no income. We lived Bernice Hotaling stayed at home with the years of service to the Liberty community. on faith for a year — just trusted the Lord for everything we needed.”

God’s provision would come in the form of Old Time Gospel Hour which was Dr. Jerry Falwell Sr. and Thomas Road Baptist Church’s radio and television ministry.

Bernice and Frank Ho- a massive stroke.”

Later, Frank Hotaling, “I took care of (Frank) that first year,” taling married right out Frank Hotaling spent who would end up para- Bernice Hotaling said. “And then I realof high school, then trav- many months at the UVA lyzed, resolved to still drive ized somebody had to work. So, I applied to eled around the country hospital in Charlottesville, his wife to work. come to work at Old Time Gospel Hour. At for Frank Hotaling’s job and Bernice Hotaling who “He got paralyzed, and that time, they (were) having a big push for and eventually ended up in did not drive was deter- he (was) determined he was the missions. So, I got hired to work at Old Lynchburg a few months mined to visit her husband. going to learn to drive so Time Gospel Hour in the data prep office. I before his diagnosis.

“So, I didn’t drive, so my that he could take me be- worked there for several years.”

“What he had was 99 boys would take me to the cause he knew I didn’t drive After years there, Bernice Hotaling, transpercent fatal,” Bernice bus station and I’d get on and I didn’t want to drive,” ferred to work at Liberty in the early 1980s.

Hotaling said. “He had a the bus,” Bernice Hotaling Bernice Hotaling said. “So, After working a variety of jobs, Bernice disease in his bloodstream said. “I’d ride trailways bus he went to a rehabilitation Hotaling settled in to her job at the Liberty that went to his heart. It de- to the bus station, walk 17 place to learn to drive hand- telephone office. For more than seven years, stroyed his aortic valve four blocks back to the hospital, icapped equipment. Then Bernice Hotaling assisted students with puttimes. He had open heart spend a day, walk 17 blocks he’d bring me every day to ting money on their accounts so they could surgery four times, and on back, get on the bus and work.” make phone calls from their dorm phones. the operating table during come home and take care of Frank Hotaling, who Bernice Hotaling worked right next to the the fourth time he suffered my kids.” passed away in 2001, al- switchboard office when she worked with ways made sure his wife the telephones, never dreaming she would knew he loved her. spend the next 25+ years working in a posi“He hated that I had to tion she would have to learn to love. come to work,” Bernice Hotaling said. “Like I said, I never worked outside the home. And he hated it. So, every Monday morning he During Bernice Hotaling’s more than had flowers delivered to my four decades in Lynchburg, she had countoffice. … When he was on less interactions with Liberty and Thomas his deathbed he told my son Road Baptist Church’s founder Dr. Jerry ‘Now you make sure your Falwell Sr. She remembered one inmother has flowers every stance when she was working at Old Time Monday morning. So, my Gospel Hour. son did it for about a year, “He was very outgoing you know,” maybe a little longer.”

Bernice Hotaling said. “I remember one Sarah Rodriguez srodriguez70@liberty.edu

A fairytale love story

“I said, ‘I never want to work in that switchboard. Oh my goodness. Almost every day I thank God that I didn’t have to work in the switchboard,’” Bernice Hotaling said.

However, when cellphones became the norm, the telephone office was closed. Bernice Hotaling worked a few odd jobs at Liberty before her friend in human resources said there was an opening in the switchboard. Despite her previous feelings toward the position, she said she would give it a try.

Then in 1992, Bernice Hotaling began as a switchboard employee and continues to hold that position.

“I’ll be here ‘till the Lord comes,” Bernice Hotaling, who has five grandchildren and nine great grandchildren, said. “I just enjoy my job, and I don’t plan on retiring anytime soon. It keeps me active. If I retired, I’d sit home in my easy chair and read or watch TV and waste away.”

In the age of technology, Bernice Hotaling’s job still is needed at the university. She answers incoming calls to the general university number, directing people to who they want to speak with.

Van Scott, who is in his 36th year working with Liberty/TRBC, hired Bernice Hotaling to work in the switchboard in 1992.

“Back in the day, especially in the daytime, there weren’t nobody working the switchboard except me and Bernice,” Scott said. “ … She was good. We both came to work even when we didn’t feel good because we said we can’t leave the one person there by themselves all the time. So, she was very conscientious, worked all the time. She was good on the phone. She was just a good employee.”

Through the ups and downs of the past 25 plus years at Liberty University, Bernice Hotaling has remained a constant. Through the financial issues, constant construction and change in leadership, Bernice Hotaling remains the happy voice on the other end ready to direct callers wherever they need to go.

RODRIGUEZ is the graduate student assistant.

A moment with Dr. Falwell Sr. episode I was working a night shift, and I was the only one in the office. It was real quiet. Someone just beat on my door and I said ‘Patience is a virtue.’ And I opened the door and there was Dr. Falwell. So that was the most embarrassing moment I had with Dr. Falwell. ... He stood there just grinning and laughing.”

A marriage made in LYH Weddings at LU provides a variety of venues around Lynchburg for the big day Rachel Kauderer rkauderer@liberty.edu

A wedding is one of the most memorable days of a bride and groom’s life. As the “ring by spring” pressures approach, so is finding the perfect fairytale wedding venue.

For those looking to tie the knot in a beautiful location, Weddings at LU has many gorgeous wedding venues for ceremonies and receptions. According to Weddings at LU Manager Bekah Kinne, not only can these spaces be booked for weddings but they can also be reserved for larger occasions.

“We love hosting women’s ministries, Bible study events, rehearsal dinners, bridal or baby showers, brother/sister dorm activities and office holiday parties,” Kinne said.

“We also have funerals a few times a year.”

Weddings at LU is run through Liberty University’s events office.

The events office is in charge of booking, coordinating and organizing the logistics of any event planned whether that be weddings or other special occasions.

In 2018, Weddings at LU hosted a total of 50 weddings. According to Kinne, the 2019 season is filling up with bookings.

“For 2019 we have 39 weddings booked so far, and we are just now

getting started booking weddings for the Fall season,” Kinne said.

“We are hoping for 55 weddings this year.”

According to Events Officer Lily Tiday, Weddings at LU offers venues with different styled atmospheres, allowing brides and grooms to decorate how they choose.

“These event locations are beautiful inside and out and are very affordable,” Tiday said. “The locations are only a 15-minute drive from campus and can be decorated in so many different ways. … It is all that you make of it.”

One wedding venue only a few minutes away from Liberty’s campus on Thomas Road is known as Old Pate Chapel. The chapel, originally built in 1964, was fully renovated and refurbished in 2013. According to Weddings at LU, this venue offers an elegant and graceful space for exchanging wedding vows.

The guest capacity for this venue holds 400 people and accommodations such as dressing rooms for the bride, bridesmaids, groom, groomsmen, new sound and lighting systems are included with booking of the location.

Located right next to the Old Pate Chapel is The Bottling Co. Reception Hall, which holds 200-

250 guests. This venue is very con- party and has built-in automated services that other venues in the venient due to the location of both sound systems. area didn’t,” Kemp said. “I am getthe ceremony and reception space.

Anri Kemp, a junior at Liberty, is ting married on May 14, 2019.”

“I adore the Bottling Co. be- tying the knot with her future husFor more information about cause not many people have been band in a few short weeks. She has Weddings at LU future married there before and I love seeing their chosen both the Worly Chapel and couples can visit the webpage or reactions to how beautiful the The Bottling Co. Reception Hall to contact Weddings at LU Manager space is,” Kinne said. “It is a hid- celebrate her memorable day. Ac- Bekah Kinne. Brides and grooms den gem in a sense.” cording to Kemp, she heard about can contact them through their This reception hall offers bridal these wedding venues through a events@liberty.edu or by phone parties and their guests a charm- girl on her dorm hall who plans to (434) 592-3511. ing vintage-styled ambiance. This get married at Old Pate Chapel. venue has rich hardwood floors, a “I chose to go with Weddings at KAUDERER is a wide variety of tables, gold Chia- LU because they offered various feature reporter. vari chairs, built-in screens, projectors, sound systems and a spacious kitchen.

The Worley Chapel, located on campus, is newly renovated. Brides can enjoy walking down the aisle in this historic campus landmark, ready to say “I do.”

This prayer chapel, which holds 100 people, provides guests with an intimate setting for the bride and groom’s romantic day. This chapel includes Leah Stauffer | Liberty News Service dressing room areas for the bridal CELEBRATION — The Worley Chapel on campus is a popular wedding venue.

B8

FEATURE

April 2, 2019

David Walker The doctors said he had a five percent chance to live.

But God had other plans.

Logan Smith lcsmith1@liberty.edu

F

reshman David Walker was no stranger to stomach cramps, but this one was different.

During his religion class last semester, his stomach ached more than usual. His mind flashed back to one of his many weightlifting workouts, thinking the pain might be exercise related.

“It was like nothing I felt before,” Walker said. “It was the climax point of a cramp. I thought it would pass, but it never did pass.”

Annoyed at the constant stomach irritation during his religion class, Walker decided to make a trip to the campus doctors’ office.

Walker expected a bad stomach cramp or hernia, but the results showed something Walker had not anticipated, something much worse.

The doctor immediately knew something strange after examining Walker’s stomach. His concern prompted a CT scan, X-ray and ultrasound.

“I underestimated this whole thing,” Walker said. “I never thought the tests would indicate a scary thing like a tumor.”

The testing results found a volleyball-sized lump inside his abdomen tangled between his organs.

The growth, expanding faster than usual, gradually reached toward his spine.

The doctor instructed Walker to immediately fly home, to Los Angeles, California, for emergency surgery.

As commanded, Walker hurried to his dorm on Commons II to pack his bags.

“He did not seem phased by it at all,” Addison Smith, Walker’s former roommate, said. “I was amazed by how non-serious it seemed to him. I asked him why he wasn’t worried, and he smiled and said he didn’t have a reason to be. (He) laughed it off and kept packing.”

Walker’s mind drifted elsewhere as he packed, despite his urgent condition and sharp pain.

He thought of his parents, fearful that their relationship was creeping closer to divorce. He almost completely disregarded his tumor as he zipped up his final suit case.

Smith drove Walker to the airport the following morning.

“On the way (to the airport), he

was still acting like nothing bad was going on,” Smith said. “I told him how amazed I was at how he was handling everything, and he just laughed and continued to say that God had a plan.”

Before the departure, Smith quickly snapped a selfie with his roommate before saying goodbye, expecting the worst.

“I didn’t know if I’d see him again,” Smith said. “He assured me he was fine, and we prayed together right before (he) left. It was so humbling to see how much faith he had that God was taking care of him.”

Once in Los Angeles, Walker’s condition intensified. He was admitted into Children’s Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA) where he received shocking news: chances of survival were slim.

“The main doctor told me there was a 95 percent chance I would die,” photo provided Walker said. “They didn’t MIRACLE — Walker’s tumor weighed 15 pounds. When the doctors went to cut it off, the tumor fell off on its own. sugar coat it.”

The emergency noticed comfort. out the whole thing. I wasn’t you are,” Walker said. surgery required dangerous “When I was at home, my par- weathered by any storm.”

Doctors surrounded the cuttings and incisions, giv- ents stopped fighting and focused Walker clung to his faith, confi- 18-year-old as he slowly regained en the tumors location in his on me,” Walker said. “I even dent to meet his savior. consciousness. After regaining abdomen. got to minister to both my parhis senses, Walker tried to raise The likelihood of survival nar- ents. If I never had this tumor, his leg. rowed as the doctor recited the I would not have been able to Miraculously, he felt movesurgery side effects. Even if Walker (have that opportunity).” ment. Not only had Walker suroutlived surgery, he may never Walker noticed his parents’ revived the 8-hour surgery, but his walk again due to risks. The tumor lationship growing stronger, and limbs were fully functioning. persistently rubbed against other the tragedy, though troubling, David later learned that his organs and threatened to collide turned into an avenue for relational tumor, which tested benign, fell with his spine. healing. right off his organs without cutShort of options, Walker chose Walker said his tumor may ting or incisions. The process surgery, the only avenue for have indirectly saved his parents’ took his doctors by surprise, essurvival. marriage. pecially considering the tumor “As a mom, I was very broken,” “It happened at the right time,” weighed 15 pounds.

Rebeccah Walker, David’s mom, Walker said. “Now that I see it af“I am sure invisible doctors said. “I was pleading with God not ter the situation, I see that God rewere in that room removing (the to let me look into my son’s grave.” ally did ordain the whole thing.” tumor) off because the doctors Rebeccah Walker thought Minutes before the surgery, said he will never be able to walk about Psalms 119:71-72, verses Walker prayed with his mom.

“I was at peace for whatever again,” Rebeccah Walker said. that encouraged believers during He remembered Romans 8:28, a would happen,” Walker said. “But God had a different plan. hardships.

Bible verse reminding people that “That’s really why I had so much Everyone at the hospital was so “Situations like this make you God works for the good of those peace, because I knew God would amazed.” get closer to God,” Rebeccah who love Him. He also considered work out everything for good.”

Despite the odds of survival, Walker said. “I kept on thinking verse 31, which says “If God is for Walker closed his eyes … then much less his ability to even stand that I know he will be in God’s arms us, nothing can be against us.” awoke after what felt like seconds. again, Walker demonstrated full if he doesn’t come back to us.”

“I said I would take that five per“Waking up from surgery was functionality only one day after Walker surrounded himself cent chance (of survival),” Walker like waking up from a midday nap, surgery. Three days later, Walker with family the short days preced- said. “But I had the same peace and when you’re completely discom- returned home. ing his hazardous surgery, and he equanimity and calmness through- bobulated and have no idea where Today, Walker brandishes a long scar along his stomach where the doctors opened his body. He receives MRIs every three months to ensure a steady healing process.

Other than a scar, Walker displays no other complication.

“The last couple months defined my whole life,” Walker said. “Now, I have a story to tell. No matter how many times I say it to different people … the reaction is the same from person to person: disbelief. I can keep telling my story forever.”

On top of his recovery, Walker returned to Liberty University for the spring semester, where he continued studying pastoral ministry and working as an RA. “David is one of the most selfless, caring and mature people I’ve ever met,” Smith said. “To have his kind of attitude at 18-years-old is beyond rare. He sets an example that people 10 years older than him could follow. God rewarded him for his faithfulness.”

As the surgeons placed the sleeping mask over his mouth, Walker prepared to wake up in Heaven.

Photo Provided

SUCCESSFUL — Walker posed with his surgeon the day after operation.

Photo Provided

SUPPORT — Walker with former roommate Addison before leaving LU.

SMITH is the manager of content.