October 2018 Bethany Messenger

Vol. 132 No.1 Oct. 3, ’18

SGA Blurb Page 2

Greek Life Page 5

The Nun Review Page 6

M.A.C. & Cheese Page 7

Athletic Update Page 11

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About Messenger / News & Features

ABOUT US The Messenger has been serving Bethany College since 1892 and is an independently run newspaper. The Messenger is entirely produced by Bethany College students who are deeply committed to providing relevant, acurate, and timely information to the Bethany College and Lindsborg communities.

EDITORIAL POLICY The Messenger encourages letters to the editor. Authors should include name, address, and phone number, though names may be withheld from the publication.

Letters to the editor can be dropped off at Room 12 in the lower level of Presser Hall or by the mailroom in the Pihlblad Memorial Union. Alternatively, emails can be sent to messenger@bethanylb.edu.

Oct. 3, 2018

-SGA Blurb-

Dear Bethany Students,

My name is Stephen Klaassen, I am a senior here at Bethany, majoring in biology, and planning on going to medical school after I graduate; I am involved with Newtonian Society, and have a wonderful time singing in the choir; I am also the president of Swede Government Association (SGA), the student government of Bethany College.

We serve as the voice of the students, find creative ways to solve problems on our campus, and explore opportunities that will help to develop our fellow peers as they round themselves out at Bethany. We meet at noon on Thursdays in the Swede Spot, which is located in the basement of the Union building (the room across from the mailroom).

You are welcome to sit in on our meetings and share your ideas on how we can better our college. I write these articles to help keep you informed if you are too busy to go to our meetings but wish to know about the projects we pursue and complete!

The Messenger reserves the right to reject or edit letters.

Opinions expressed in this publication are those of the signed author. They are not necessarily those of the Bethany College administration, faculty, staff, student body or The Messenger staff.

As SGA’s first big project of the year, we are excited to announce that YOU have been heard! We are trying to address the potholes located in the parking lots around campus. SGA is looking into ways to make repairs on three parking lots in particular: New Hall Parking Lot (in between the maintenance building and New Hall), The Sand Lot (Across from the Nelson Science Center), and the Faculty & Staff ParkCONTACT US If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to ing (directly behind the Nelson Science Center). A date has not yet been set as to when email us at messenger@bethanylb.edu. To directly contact this project will commence, but we encourage you to keep an eye on your email--when the head editors, email hennekm@bethanylb.edu or we do begin the repairs, vehicles will need to be moved from the parking lots. garciall@bethanylb.edu. We can be reached via mail at 335 E Swensson St, Lindsborg, KS 67456.

THE MESSENGER STAFF Editor-in-Chief: Kerri Henne Managing Editor: Sam Reed Treasurer: Katie Klaassen News & Feature Editor: Emily Ballantyne Opinions Editor: Hannah Imm Arts & Entertainment Editor: Abigail Rishel-Barnett Sports Editor: Dominque Murray Layout Editor: Miranda Work Social Media Manager: Baptiste Chazelas Advisors: Rebecca Miller and Frank Ballew Front Page Photo Credit - Hannah Imm

Another project that SGA is currently undertaking is the sale of high quality t-shirts. This endeavor will allow us to both help represent SGA and fundraise to replenish the Student Emergency Fund. The Student Emergency Fund was created to aid students facing either a medical or family emergency by helping to provide transportation for that student. This is SGA’s way of providing a helping hand to those in need. We on the board strive to be hospitable to students as they spend their time here at Bethany.

The sale ends October 4th and the shirts are $20 a piece. If you haven’t bought a shirt and would like to, get your orders in by then--your efforts will be greatly appreciated.

Should there be any questions from you, please feel free to email us at sga@bethanylb.edu. If you see me, or other SGA members walking around, please say hello!

Your president, signing off, Stephen Klaassen President of Swede Government Association

News & Features

Oct. 3, 2018

-SAB Blurb-

The Student Activities Board would like to send a thank you to all the students that have attended our first events of the year! We have had some great turnouts!

SAB has some exciting events coming up soon. On Friday evening, October 5th, SAB will be hosting FREE Zombie Paintball Hayrack Rides located at Elite Sports just outside of Assaria, KS from 8-11pm.The exact location is 7928 S Old Hwy 81, Assaria, KS 67416. Similar to our movie nights, students will transport themselves to the Elite Sports location. Students will need to bring their BC IDs for entrance. SAB will cover the entrance cost for all Bethany Students, but any additional items that students wish to purchase, such as extra rounds of ammo, will be the students’ responsibility. There are a series of three separate hayrack trailers with 12 mounted paintball guns that will be rotating through the trial. Students will aim for the “zombies” (high schoolers making the most of their free time) with no threat of physical harm to themselves, only the poor, poor zombies.

Come out and kick the Halloween season off with kicking some zombie butt!

The 2018 Talent Show will be held on Friday, October 12th in Presser Hall starting at 7pm. Come and enjoy watching some of your fellow classmates perform various acts and talents. We also welcome comedian Corey Rodrigues to share the stage with our talented students. Corey has made appearances on Catch a New Rising Star, the New York Comedy Contest, the Boston Comedy Festival, and the Gotham Live Stand Up Show. Corey will appear between student acts and serve as our emcee for the night, as well as some comedic relief.

The Talent Show will be followed by the Homecoming Court Crowning Ceremony.

SAB’s last event of October will be our very own Pumpkin Shmumpkin on October 30th starting at 9pm in the amphitheater. This is basically a Halloween-themed Easter egg hunt. There will be small plastic pumpkins hidden around the main block of campus.

Students will start in the amphitheater and then try and find the pumpkins hidden around. Most will be filled with candy, but there will be about 36 pumpkins that will have a prize slip in them for students to come pick out one of the various, fabulous prizes located at the prize table in the amphitheater. We ask that students please return the pumpkins back to the amphitheater after they remove the candy. We encourage students to bring their flashlights and break out their trick-or-treat baskets (or the equivalent shopping bag) for the collecting of pumpkins.

-Emily Perkins Student Activities Board President

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-October EventsZombie Paintball!

October 5th -- 8-11PM Location: Elite Sports Cost Covered by SAB!

Talent Show!

October 12th -- 7PM Location: Presser Hall

Homecoming Court Ceremony to follow!

Pumpkin Shumpkin!

October 30th -- 9PM

Photo Credit: Hannah Imm

Location: The Ampitheater Pumpkin Themed Easter Egg Hunt!

News & Features

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Mya Acosta

acostamr@bethanylb.edu

Did You Burn Your Shoes?

Some have speculated that Colin Kaepernick has taken his seat on the throne of controversy with the release of Nike’s latest advertising plan: the “Dream Crazy” campaign.

As the face of the newest Nike campaign, both approval and outrage have ignited across the nation. People in favor of Kaepernick have been buying more Nike products, while opposers have been burning theirs. Controversial or not, the free agent NFL quarterback has earned the title of one of the most influential figures in America, a status which made him a

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candidate to be the newest face of one of the biggest companies in the country.

September 1st, 2016 was the day that Kaepernick lit the political world on fire. He decided to take a knee during the national anthem at a 49ers preseason game. Kaepernick said his message was to take a stand against the oppression of people of color.

“I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color,” Kaepernick said to NFL Media in an interview.

Many Americans have viewed his actions as a peaceful protest against the systematic oppression of African Americans, with an emphasis on police brutality.

He has received recognition from other activists, like Jesse Owens, and has been the center of a national debate for two years now.

While Kaepernick

has been praised for his bravery and activism, he has also faced great criticism for his actions, and heated accusations claiming that he was disrespecting the US military by refusing to stand for the national anthem. The opposition of Kaepernick’s actions are calling for Nike to pick another athlete for their campaign, and burning many of their Nike products in the process. Many have voiced that Pat Tillman, a former NFL player who left his professional football career behind to fight in Afghanistan, should be the new face of the Nike campaign. However, many friends and family members of Pat Tillman have announced that they find this political backlash to be exploiting the legacy of Tillman.

The debate which has sparked controversy and anger across the nation has drawn attention from the likes of activists and the president. The debate has been going on for two years and many speculate that Nike was intending to take a political stand by choosing Kaepernick to be the face of this latest campaign, which in itself is controversial.

Oct. 3, 2018

Swede Survey: October 2018

Brandi Cruz cruzbl@bethanylb.edu

Bethany College is receiving a new school mascot costume, and, in order to honor our newest Bethany Swede, we are giving him a name.

Students were asked to submit potential names, as well as vote on the names presented. Every name was submitted and voted on by the students and, after several days, the results are in. The following three names ranked the highest and the winner is clear.

Rokar the Great was a name presented by two separate students; Salveccho James and Megan Seibel.

The remaining 24% of votes went to other names, but there was no question about the winner. Named after our infamous school cheer, Rokar will soon be seen cheering on our sports teams as they thunder across the field. Let us all welcome the newest member of Bethany and visit him at every game and event he attends. Perhaps together, with every student chanting for the “Terrible Swedes,” we can make Rokar’s job a little bit easier.

Oct. 3, 2018

Emma Wager

wagerem@bethanylb.edu

Greek Life has been very active in the month of September and will be holding more events in the upcoming months. The Greek Life Executive Board has been meeting with the sororities and fraternities the past couple of weeks to start the process of recruiting new members and planning both all-campus and all-greek events.

During the week of September 10th - 16th, the recruitment process began.

Each organization held Rush Parties to attract students that were interested in joining Greek Life. During each party, the organizations talked about what makes them different from the other ones and attempted to prove they were

Photo Credit: Emma Wager

News & Features

Greek Life Update

the best on campus. The active members gave information on the types of philanthropy that their organization does and also described events that they previously held or will be holding in the future.

Bow Night was held on October 16th. This event allowed the possible new members that had received bids the opportunity to pick which organization they wanted to join.

Active members showed up to see the pledges that chose their organization walk the stage and be presented a token of gratitude from the organization that they chose. Most sororities chose to hand out bows, while fraternities gave out beaded necklaces. After Bow Night, we calculated the number of actives and pledges that are currently in Greek Life.

We currently have around 85 active members and around 50 pledges, most of which were pledges for the sororities on campus. The pledges have three weeks of training before they can become a member. Crossing Night is when they finally can become an active, which will happen between Friday. October 5th and Sunday, October 7th.

Each organization has planned a different day for their crossing night. We are planning on hosting a crossover get-together to celebrate the crossing of new members into active members.

On September 15th, the Thetas held their Domestic Violence Walk. The Thetas ordered t-shirts for everyone that participated in the event.

The t-shirts are purple to represent domestic violence awareness. They had 300 participants, many of them were students of Bethany College.

They raised $355 for Jana’s Campaign to help further the education of domestic violence and spread awareness on campus. October 2nd, at 7pm in Presser’s auditorium, the Theta’s presented their donation.

Multiple presenters were present to inform the students of Bethany College about mental health and domestic violence. On October 19th, the Thetas are holding their last domestic violence/mental

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health awareness event. They are hoping that everyone on campus will wear purple shirts and jeans to show support for the education of mental health and domestic violence.

Currently, the Thetas are the only organization in Greek Life to have completed events. Greek Life is planning an all-campus Homecoming event soon, however. The event will be ‘Minute to Win it,’ and will take place all over campus.

Each greek organization will be present at a different activity.

This event will take place on October 11th.

We are also going to be hosting a community wide food drive that will start during Homecoming Week and will end before Thanksgiving Break. All the donations that we received will be donated to local organizations. As Bethany College students, we want to give back to the community that gives to us. We plan on having donation stations around town so that everyone in town can have access to locations closer to them. If anyone has any questions about the Food Drive, Greek Life will be posting information on the “Lindsborg Now” Facebook page that will include more information on the event and the locations of the donation stations.

Opinions

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Miranda Work

workms@bethanylb.edu

Oct. 3, 2018

Nunplussed: Jump-Scares & Bad Makeup

These are actually the only frightening parts of The Nun and they were paired with bad makeup that just makes it look like a bad hair day. Normally, I would go for a good jump-scare, when they are spaced out throughout the movie.

However, these happened back to back to back to back, and so on and so forth. They weren’t original jump scares either. The directors kept saying, “it’ll be like nothing anyone has ever seen before,” and we all have seen the mirror scare with the nun in The Conjuring 2. These jump-scares occurred so often that the plot and the characters were not developed enough.

We flew by the plot in the matter of an hour. The whole time was spent watching the characters run down dark hallways as the demon vaguely approached, featuring the same movie score we heard in The Conjuring 2 and Annabelle.

As for the characters, a “good” nun played the hero, but we barely even knew her background.

There was a priest who seemed to be more concerned with setting everything on fire with holy oil than actually killing the demon. The beginning of the movie focused mainly on the slow reveal of the

nun. Why? We already know what she looks like. We saw her on that banned YouTube ad and we saw her in The Conjuring 2. There was no point to the build-up and there was no point to The Nun. The whole Conjuring franchise is like getting on a roller-coaster. You keep getting on and hoping that something in the ride will change.

The ride never ends and never gets better. You have some high points and very low points. All in all, it is the same roller-coaster you got on the first time with the same scares, same characters, and the same plot points.

Avery Holmes

holmesaj@bethanylb.edu

Avery here, and I have to say I’m glad Miranda at least had something positive to say - because I have even less.

Have you ever gotten a text from a guy who doesn’t really seem worth your time, but he keeps showing up everywhere on your feed and he’s at least a little cute, so you decide to text him back? That’s what watching this movie felt like.

The Nun is an exercise in bridging the gap between mediocre horror and pretentious ambition.

It gracefully hits all the tropes of a bad horror movie and has a major reliance on completely obvious jump scares and schlocky “creepy”

moments. Everything is punctuated by a shrill violin or a bass noise that’s supposed to make scenes scarier. All it does is signal that something bad is going to happen.

The cinematography was subpar.

They used a lot of cheap camera tricks that really tried to convince the audience that they were doing something cool, but it was clearly stuff borrowed from other movies.

There were scenes with shaky cam that didn’t need it, and parts where it showed the main monster’s face like it was going “ooga booga” to a baby. There was a single interesting shot that lasted for less than half a second, when a character closed a door while running away from the monster. That was fluid motion that heightened the tension for a split second.

I would much rather have boring cinematography than pseudo-big brain symbolism. All of the religious references felt like

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they were yelling at the camera and expecting the audience to accept them as deep. It didn’t really add up to anything except for what felt like an offensive, superficial appropriation of Christian aesthetics.

The story itself was yawn inducing with the big revelation of the monster’s origins being boiled down to “evil.” It’s just evil. There is no further explanation. IT’S JUST EVIL. That’s the only thing I can remember about the story because it was that boring of a movie.

If I had to say anything positive about it, there were a few lines of dialogue that got a chuckle out of me. The main trio interacted with each other fairly well. The lead actress was solid, and I liked the way that her character stayed consistent throughout the film.

Outside of these few things, I’m sad that I ever watched it.

Oct. 3, 2018

Students returning from summer break were in for a negative surprise in regards to academic services provided on Bethany College’s campus this year.

Several detrimental funding errors and decisions have significantly impacted the Wallerstedt Learning Center, the Writing Center, and the Academic Center for Excellence.

Wallerstedt Learning Center, and those in it, are some of the most valuable resources we have at Bethany College. Due to decreased funding, our library now closes at 10:00 p.m. rather than 10:30 p.m. This time change seems insignificant, but to the student tirelessly working on an essay, access to library staff, texts, and technology, for as long as

Photo Credit: Hannah Imm

Opinions

Messenger Advice Column & Cheese: Undervaluing the Most Valuable

possible, is essential.

Last year, the library employed fourteen student workers who often worked in pairs. This year, the library could only afford to hire eleven student workers and they are often by themselves. The eleven student workers are now pressed to shelve books, dust, scan materials for archival purposes, and assist students within a smaller window of time and without the assistance of a partner.

The Writing Center is a student tutoring service that assists students with any and all writing tasks. The Writing Center can help students with brainstorming ideas for an essay, teaching correct writing conventions, and checking over papers before they are submitted.

These services build a student’s confidence in their writing abilities and often betters the grade a student receives for their work.

Last year, the Bethany College Writing Center employed ten student tutors who often worked in pairs or groups. This year, a mere five student tutors could be afforded and they work alone. No new tutors could be hired, and the future of The Writing Center relies on hiring and training new tutors every year. The Writing Center operates a meager twenty hours a week this year. This time is barely half of the operating hours of last year.

The student population is aware of the limited hours to receive writing help, and the student tutors are often busy from the minute the doors are opened to the minute the doors are closed.

The Academic Center for Excellence received the worst budgeting error of all this year. The ACE employs student tutors who can assist the campus community with any content area at Bethany College. The ACE’s budget for operation this year is a paltry 15% of last year’s budget. Ten to twelve student tutors are needed to optimally service students, but only six student tutors could be hired

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this year. Faculty members have stepped-in to compensate for the shortage. Thankfully, the ACE is open sixty-one hours a week to students this year. Athletes make up a significant chunk of the students who utilize the ACE’s services, so Bethany College athletics are providing supplemental funding to assist their student-athletes.

Student tutors and staff are indispensable and inexpensive to the student population. In the “real world,” tutors can cost up to $23 an hour for services. Student tutors are paid minimum wage for their assistance at no out-ofpocket cost to the students.

I genuinely hope that the funding cuts to our academic services were unintentional mistakes. I ultimately advise that Bethany College reevaluate the allocation of our funds and supply our academic services with the money they desperately need to best serve our students for the second semester of this academic year. If a mid-year change is entirely impossible, I advise that academic services receive priority attention for the next academic year. As college is a place for academic growth, decreased funding to our academic services will negatively impact student learning and success.

Opinions

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Avery Holmes holmesaj@bethanylb.edu

Oct. 3, 2018

TA1300: The Dark Side of Hip-Hop

It’s safe to say that 2018 has turned out to be a wonderful year for rap music. This summer, we had legend Kanye West release a slew of albums that (mostly) pushed the boundaries of hiphop with bold and adventurous production. The alternative scene is spreading wide and far, with rappers like Ski Mask the Slump God, JPEGMafia, and Ghostemane. With all this buzz in the rap world, I can’t help but feel that someone hasn’t gotten nearly enough attention for his latest release. It’s like talking about him is a taboo.

Florida-based Denzel Curry is only 23 (seriously!), but he’s been rapping for more than eight years. He’s always been an excellent rapper, with songs like “Threatz,” “ULT,” and the memed to death “Ultimate” (also known as the “I am the one” song). One area where he was lacking was musical progression.

He could always provide clever punchlines with an aggressive delivery, but that’s all he was really able to do. He didn’t really have any sense of impactful hooks or dynamic delivery.

However, with Taboo (stylized TA13OO), the man cements

himself as a powerhouse of hiphop who is going to do wonderful things.

The album is cut into three acts, symbolizing light, grey, and dark. They seem to be organized according to theme, but it’s fairly inconsistent. The tracks do get darker as the album progresses, but it doesn’t seem like the organization stuck the landing. With that minor complaint out of the way, we can talk about how freaking amazing nearly every song is. The album opens with an eponymous soulful ballad, touching on trauma that nobody really wants to discuss – the general theme of the album. The track “Black Balloons” follows this, with a dancier beat and some intelligent symbolism that paints black balloons as depression clouding one’s vision.

The next two songs, “Cash Maniac” and the first single “Sumo,” are fairly weak but inoffensive. “Cash Maniac” has a bit of a 90s R&B, future funk instrumental with a nice hook, but no real theme or progression.

“Sumo” is a generic trap banger, which, while not that impressive, does have the line “chopper eat a n***a like Chowder, radda radda radda radda radda,” which is hilarious.

After track four, we go into Grey, which contains the bulk of tracks. “Super Saiyan Superman” brings a very alien synth carrying braggadocious lyrics and a killer set of flows from Curry. “Switch It Up” is a more grand departure, in which Curry demonstrates his newfound delivery and vocal range, while talking about the public’s constantly switching view of him. “Mad I Got It” continues this theme, but from a perspective of jealousy against him. The instrumental has this slow, airy plucking with a subdued beat in the background. The switch up in the last minute is very dreamlike, but falls apart with a noisy outro that doesn’t lead into the next track that well at all.

Said track, “Sirens,” is an average song with a pleasant hook and decent verse from J.I.D., but falls apart with Curry’s aggressive delivery (and questionable metaphors in regards to American politics) over a soft beat. It’s conflicting, full of very odd statements, and just kind of underwhelming musically. It’s easily my least favorite track

on the album. Thankfully, we’re reaching the end of the album, and it’s the best five-song stretch I’ve heard this year.

The final song in Grey, “Clout Cobain,” intelligently juxtaposes imagery of fame and fashion with that of violence, critiquing the glorification of mental illness and depression popular in art.

Denzel doesn’t rap in this song at all and elects to sing over an understated beat with low bass that drips with this moody organ and odd whining in the back. So good.

Dark, my favorite section (of course it is) is easily the strongest section, and opens up with my favorite song from the album – arguably my favorite

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Opinions

Oct. 3, 2018

TA1300 (Cont’d)

song of the year. “The Blackest Balloon” has this icy, venomous instrumental reminiscent of 1990s horror rap and a punctual, in-your-face hook that sounds like genuine fear, in which he shouts, “OOH! OOH! Feel like a horror movie!” The beat is sparse, with a tight snare, rhythmic hissing, and reverbed clave in the black. He discusses the way that the world doesn’t feel real anymore because of just how violent and sad people have become in the past few years. He talks about visions of his dead brother and references the fact that the overdose of Lil Peep hasn’t changed anyone’s views on drugs. It’s truly an amazing track that marries inventive trap instrumentation and a profound, if pessimistic, message.

“Percs” is the lower point of the stretch, but still has an aggressive trap beat with a very wavy synth and typically aggressive Denzel delivery. He chides the rap game in a way that Anthony Fantano of theneedledrop says “someone like Hopsin has had of it over the years,” but is saved by his self-awareness and actual level of taste. “Vengeance” follows this, which feels like a love letter to horrorcore – just straight bars about doing very awful things to people with 90’s trap-styled sampling and a

very vibrant instrumental. Rappers JPEGMafia and Zillakami join him on the track. JPEG delivers a smooth verse with a very sing-songy flow, and Zillakami comes in with an aggressive metal delivery and tears apart the track to make way for a nice, jazzy outro.

Curry won’t end the album like that. The last track, “Black Metal Terrorist,” teases a nice reprieve from the aggression and darkness in the intro, but then goes into the hardest and most aggressive beat of the whole track. He delivers straight bars and makes sure the listener knows the end isn’t the end for him. The track slowly breaks apart into this noisy mess of ugly static that cuts directly into silence. A cold, chilling end for one of the best alternative rap albums of the decade.

This album is wonderful.

Aside from a couple spots of generic production, an inconsistent theme, and some very corny oneliners and metaphors, it’s absolutely worth a listen. It smoothly bridges experimental hip-hop and mainstream appeal to craft a dark landscape that challenges the listener, while also extending a hand to keep listening. I would give this album an 8/10.

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Wifi Trouble?

Katie Zuercher zuercherks@bethanylb.edu

Have you ever had a problem with your WiFi connection on campus or in the dorms? Yeah, I thought so. But, before you start blaming the universe or the IT department, realize that it is probably your fault. There are simple steps that you can take to figure out what is wrong.

The IT department uses a ticket system on eSWEDE. This is similar to the system you use to submit a maintenance request.

You can find where to send an IT ticket on eSWEDE under the quick links. Before you do that, save everyone the trouble and try restarting your device, and checking to make sure your software is up to date. If that does not fix the problem, send a ticket and openly communicate with the IT department. They cannot help you if they do not know that there is an issue. Once the IT department has a ticket, they go through a process of elimination to determine the problem and find a solution.

Trust me, they know what they are doing and are very helpful.

There are wireless access points throughout the dorms and sometimes the solution to the problem is as simple as rebooting them.

An email will be sent out soon containing a video that explains the ticket system.

If there is an internet outage, it is usually because some form of construction is happening around power lines and a fiber line was accidently cut. It requires a complicated process of splicing and replacing the line to restore the connection. Some of the WiFi problems in the past have been caused by interference from PS4’s or personal routers.

The IT department has a method to identify and remove these issues.

There is obviously a budget that IT needs to maintain, but grants are routinely applied to make sure our equipment is being continuously improved and updated. The IT department also continues to work with our provider, Cox, to make sure the estimated amount of devices students use are being catered to, and that we have an appropriate amount of data accessible for our uses. Cox has added infrastructure in town, specifically, to meet the demand from the college.

Our bandwidth has been doubled since last year. This means that we have double the data transfer rate of a network or Internet connection.

Circumstances are unpredictable and technology requires us to be patient and understanding.

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Arts & Entertainment

Hope: The Story of Eurydice

Brandi Cruz cruzbl@bethanylb.edu

The Bethany College Theatre Department is preparing to debut this year with a revamped production of the story Eurydice. This play is a Greek tragedy from the perspective of an intellectual young woman who dies on the night of her wedding. Stumbling her way about the underworld in search of an escape, she is unaware that her lover, Orpheus, has descended into Hades’ lair in an effort to bring her back to the land of the living.

The ancient tale has been modernized, blending styles from 1920s, including suits, ties, swing dresses, and rockabilly hairstyles. Even the ruler of the underworld himself, played by director Greg Legault, has been given an extreme makeover.

This production highlights subjects that are not typically talked about openly. Love, mourning, loss, and, most of all, hope are some of the most common emotions felt by all human beings.

Eurydice, played by freshman Jennea Robertson, is the perfect embodiment of these emotions. As an ancient character portrayed by a modern woman, Eurydice must be both vulnerable and independent, and both mournful and fierce.

Therefore, the cast can only hope that as the audience walks away from this stunning tale, perhaps they might be able to take something with them.

This production is especially important to the school theatre department as it highlights exactly what binds the school, students, and community together.

The Bethany College Theatre Department is nearly 100 years old, yet it still retains its roots as a community theatre. The students and community work together to put on productions by borrowing props from Bethany alumni, and even giving the community an opportunity to be part of the show.

The productions represent not only a strong community, but a community that has come together despite every obstacle in the hopes of creating something for people to learn from and enjoy. At its core, the story of Eurydice is about just that, hope. Hope is the ability to want for the better, and to continue to try again no matter what opposes you. “The most important thing to human beings is hope,� states director Greg Legault. It is the hope of the theatre department that everyone, student and alumni, will not only enjoy the show, but view it as an experience that forces them to question themselves. Eurydice is a show worth seeing, and I implore the student body to give it a chance, and see it for themselves.

A Green-Thumb for Art

Hope Burton burtonhl@bethanylb.edu

Bethany college is well known for composing music, creating art, and their strong connection to religion. However, while walking past Presser Hall, have you ever wondered about the mysterious building surrounded by metal sculptures? That building is the Mingenback Art Center, and it is the heart and soul of the creative people here at Bethany College.

From my own experience walking through the Mingenback Art Center, I was happily welcomed by one of the art professors, Professor Ed Pogue. He started our conversation by explaining more about why students come to Bethany College for art. As Prof.

Pogue went more in depth, he expressed how students are pursuing and improving their artistic ability in order to discover how their passion, talent, and hard work will help them to expand their minds

Oct. 3, 2018

and to become professionals in the design and art industries. Before we ended our conversation, Prof.

Pogue requested that I check out and enjoy the Mingenback Art gallery.

I was walking down the hallway looking for the art gallery and... Boom! Instantly my eyes were struck by a piece of art named Sugar by Grace Peterson.

Through my eyes, this piece resembled my favorite Disney character Mickey Mouse. Beyond the connection to Mickey, the work also reminded me of my home: California, home of Disneyland.

After visiting the Mingenback Art Center, I highly recommend that anyone and everyone who attends Bethany College should visit and see the hard work of our fellow peers. While there, students should also give feedback on which canvases catch your eye the most in the Mingenback Art Gallery.

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Oct. 3, 2018

Dom Murray murraydc@bethanylb.edu

Golf: September 17-18th, the Swedes golf team participated in the Ranger Invitational, hosted by the Northwestern Oklahoma State Rangers. The men’s team finished second, after losing a one-hole shootout for the championship. Jordan Della Guistina (sr.) finished first overall in the men’s individual competition with a final score of 145 over the two days.

Sophomore Savannah Pinson finished 2nd on the women’s side with a score of 160 over the 2 days. It’s still early in the year for the Swedes Golf team but they seem to be picking up where they left off. Last year the Men’s team won the KCAC Championship while a young women’s team finished 2nd in the KCAC Championship led by, then senior, Aspen Bryant.

With all but two members of last year’s team returning, and a few additions, this year’s Women’s Golf team is definitely a team to watch this year.

Volleyball

Swedes Volleyball has a new coaching staff this year, fol-

Sports

Messenger 11

Bethany Athletics Update

lowing the departure of Coach Cheri Lindsay, who is now an assistant coach at the University of Portland, an NCAA D1 in Oregon. Brandi Stewart, a Dodge City CC and Sterling College alum, was named the new head coach early this past summer. With the loss of a lot of height and senior leadership from last season, this year’s Swedes Volleyball team has an uphill battle competing in the tough KCAC. It’s been a rocky start to the season for the Lady Swedes starting off 5-14. With a couple conference games already in the books, the Swedes look to turn around the season, start a run for the tournament and, hopefully, the conference championship after that. On a brighter note, the Lady Swedes have defended their home court, Hahn Gym, with a record of 2-1. There are 11 conference games left, six of which are located at Hahn Gym. If the team continues to play well at home, they will be able to qualify for the conference tournament in November. The Swedes are back in action October 3rd in Hahn Gym against Kansas Wesleyan for part two of the Smoky Hill Showdown. Come out and support your fellow

Photo Credit: Tracy Adams

Swedes and stay tuned on different social media platforms for the theme of the night.

Women’s Soccer Your Bethany Women’s Soccer team is off to a hot start again this year with a record of 5-2-1 through the first eight games. During this span, two of the Swedes earned Player of the Week acknowledgements.

Kylie Young (jr.) earned Defensive Player of the Week for the week of August 27-September 2nd for her role in the two shutouts. Kastel Heinold (so.) earned Offensive Player of the week for the week of Sep-

tember 10-16th. The Swedes played Manhattan Christian (KS) beating them 8-0 at home behind Heinold’s four goal performance. The Lady Swedes opened conference play this year against a tough Oklahoma Wesleyan team that was ranked 14th in the NAIA going in. Unfortunately, the Swedes lost 3-1. On a good note, they played OKWU very well and, without a couple of mental mistakes, they might have won. The Lady Swedes resume action Saturday, September 29th, where they will be visiting the school up north (Kansas Wesleyan) for the 2nd Annual Smoky Hill Showdown.