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Volume 33 | Issue 7 Tuesday, April 5, 2016

strike up the band

Leah Seavers| Liberty Champion

SING PRAISE — Rend Collective visited Liberty April 1 during College For A Weekend where they performed a concert in the Vines Center. See full story on B8.

Leaping into Lynchburg Jump Trampoline Park plans to open location in Candlers Mountain Shopping Center Taylor Coleman tcoleman64@liberty.edu

Lynchburg will welcome its first Jump Trampoline Park this fall in the Candlers Mountain Shopping Center, less than a mile away from Liberty University’s campus.

Greg Lyons, director of development at Jump, said the site will be approximately 12,000 square feet, depending on the final design. The park will exist within the four walls of the former Cinemark Movies 10 theater, which is 23,400 square feet.

Lyons said the projected date for the park to open is Sept. 1.

Jump currently occupies two other locations in Virginia — Charlottesville and

Virginia Beach. Lyons explained that the thought of opening a location in Lynchburg began shortly after the Charlottesville spot opened in December 2014.

“We always thought that Lynchburg would be a fantastic location, (especially) with Liberty University right there,” Lyons said. “We just think it is going to be great.”

Renovations at the former Cinemark Movies 10 theater are currently underway. Lyons said the Jump crew will not begin work until the interiors of the theater are removed.

“They are currently working on demolition of walls and different things like that,” Lyons said. “We will not start for another two months.”

Cinemark Movies 10, known to the community as the Dollar Theater, closed in November 2015 after the movie theater chain decided to not renew its contract with Liberty, according to WSET. Lyons explained that one of the reasons that particular location was chosen was due to the fact that movie theaters are typically put in prime locations in a city.

The Lynchburg Jump site will most resemble the Charlottesville Jump site, as far as set up is concerned. Lyons said it will include a main trampoline area, a foam pit, a trapeze swing, angled basketball hoops, an area for little kids, extreme dodge ball and birthday party rooms.

Pricing will also be similar to Charlottes-

ville’s location. The price for thirty minutes is $8, and the price for an hour is $12.

Walk-ins will be welcome, but reservations are highly recommended to ensure a time slot in the park. Tickets are available online.

As to whether or not Liberty students will have a discounted price due to the proximity to campus, Lyons said that final pricing has not been decided. However, they are “definitely” looking into it.

See BOUNCE, A2

Construction connection New bridge extends from the Freedom Tower to the DeMoss Hall Student Center Jordan Jarrett jjarrett4@liberty.edu

The community at Liberty University has seen first-hand the progress of this year’s construction efforts on campus, most notably in the erection of a bridge over Reber-Thomas Drive. At 130 feet long and 35 feet above the road, the bridge will connect the Freedom Tower to the DeMoss Hall Student Center.

Alan Askew, the director of construction for Liberty’s Plan-

ning and Construction Department, explained that the bridge is part of an egress requirement out of the forthcoming Student Center. It will provide a more efficient means of exit out of the large banquet facility that will be on the center’s third floor.

“It could have been a stairwell to grade, but it makes more sense from a traffic flow to connect (the bridge) over to the Freedom Tower terrace, as those two projects will have some shared uses, making the bridge

connection a logical choice,” Askew said.

Joining the progress of the bridge is that of several other simultaneous building projects. According to Askew, the new music building is nearing completion, as are the lawn projects such as the academic lawn, the campus walkway, and the Commons lawn.

Forthcoming is a new indoor practice facility, an indoor track,

See BRIDGE, A2

Leah Seavers | Liberty Champion

JOIN — A new bridge will allow easier travel between buildings.

News Opinion

INSIDE THE CHAMPION

News

The student leadership structure changes with the addition of a A3 new department.

Opinion

Primaries for Dummies continues with information regarding a contested convention. A5

Sports

Feature

Men’s tennis defeats Radford on Senior Day. B2

The Liberty theater department presented “Steel Magnolias.”

B7

Sports Feature

A1 A4 B1 B5

news

A2 | April 5, 2016 | Liberty Champion

Packing up and moving School of Communication & Creative Arts prepares for move to Green Hall Taylor Frost tfrost2@liberty.edu

The Liberty University School of Communication & Creative Arts (SCCA) will be united under one roof in Green Hall come fall 2016. SCCA, along with the Liberty Studio & Digital Arts (SADA) Department, will be moving into the space currently occupied by the indoor track facility.

According to Dean of SCCA Dr. Norman Mintle, this will create an environment for collaboration between students from all four of the school’s departments.

“This move unites our entire school,” Mintle said. “Then we have the beauty of synergy between all of our students, which we have never had before in one geographic location.”

The new “front door” for the SCCA will be where the Green Hall lobby is now.

When the renovation is complete, there will be a new lobby with glass double doors that welcomes students. Located along the entry hallway will be the radio station 90.9 The Light, The Liberty Champion and open spaces to display student artwork and technology.

Mintle explained that he envisions floorto-ceiling glass windows allowing visitors to see into choreography, ceramic and digital arts studios lining the hallways.

The director of preconstruction, Brad Barber, said demolition on the indoor track has already begun, and construction on phase one of this project began April 1. Phase one will replace all the facilities used by the SADA and digital media and communication arts (DMCA) departments that are now used in DeMoss Hall. Phase one should be complete by mid-August 2016 and ready for the upcoming school year.

“The computer labs, the drawing studios, ceramic studios and all the spaces we have here in DeMoss we will also have over there,” Mintle said. “There will be new versions of them.”

Barber said the indoor track is being moved to East Campus under the monogram. It will be open for the upcoming 2016-2017 track season.

Later phases of the construction plan will focus on moving the Liberty Flames Sports Network (LFSN) to Green Hall, Theatre Arts’ renovations and the con-

Cassandra Steptoe| Liberty Champion

DEMOLITION — Construction has already begun on renovating the indoor track facility at Green Hall. struction of a new Black Box theater, and the creation of a new home for 90.9 The Light, Barber explained. These are scheduled to begin later this summer.

“Eventually, LFSN is going to be relocated from River Ridge (Mall) and will be brought over next to us,” Mintle said.

“We’re going to have our own television studio next to their professional studio. On the theater side, the Black Box theater will literally be a ‘black box’ in which multiple seating configurations can be adapted based on the particular design of each show.”

Mintle also shared that the Black Box theater will provide students with more opportunities to do original script productions and have more student-led productions. This theater will hold approximately 180 people. It will also be used as a classroom.

“This will expand the overall opportunity for our students,” Mintle said. “What excites me about this is that we can start doing more serious literature that expands our actors’ and directors’ writing and acting experiences.”

According to Mintle, students in the SCCA can also anticipate a new common area. This will have a lounge type of feel, and students will be able to connect with other students from different areas of studies.

“We are going to be in a very vibrant space,” Mintle said. “Then we have that huge and wonderful collaborative area that students are going to go crazy for.”

Department Chair of DMCA Dr. Bruce Kirk said this is a “massive move” for the department.

“This will allow us all to be more col-

BOUNCE continued from A1

Leah Seavers | Liberty Champion

FACILITY — The vacant theater will now house a trampoline park.

With Charlottesville over an hour away, Lyons said having a trampoline park in town is convenient to Lynchburg locals and Liberty students. Lyons believes that the town will enjoy the new addition.

“You do not to have that hour drive,” Lyons said. “We just feel like it is a good entertainment option. It is not just for rainy days.

It is for the whole family, not just

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legial and have discipline-cross pollination where we can work with each other,” Kirk said. “There are a lot of possibilities to work among our own departments and with other departments.”

Kirk said students will need to make allowances for the time within their schedule to travel from DeMoss Hall to Green Hall. The majority of classrooms are being constructed close to the main hallway that leads to the bus stop outside Green Hall.

FROST is a news repoter.

for kids. Lynchburg is going to embrace it.”

Liberty students will be able to use the trampoline park as a place to enjoy the company of others and spend their free time.

“I’m really excited for the trampoline park to come to Lynchburg,” sophomore Liberty student John Rolewicz said. “I think it will be another great way for students to enjoy their free time off campus, and halls could host events there as a way to get new students engaged.”

Updates on Jump will be posted at facebook.com/ jumplynchburg. More information is located at the official Jump Trampoline Park websites — jumpcville.com and jumpvabeach.com. The Jump Lynchburg website is coming soon.

COLEMAN is a news reporter.

BRIDGE continued from A1 and the Academic & Performance Center.

Askew also disclosed that there are several other projects with design soon to be underway, but they will not be fully announced until the Liberty administration officially releases the information.

In regard to which project has taken up the most time and effort, Askew said each building has had its own challenges and intricacies. However, Askew said the Academic & Performance Center has been the most challenging construction project to date in terms of complexity.

So far, the rate of progress toward completion for all present construction on campus has gone according to schedule. The Student Center is on track to be complete by the start of the fall semester of 2016. According to Askew, the Freedom Tower is beginning concrete work and is set to be complete in 2017.

“We anticipated a transformation spanning nearly 10 years, and it will run pretty close to that,” Askew said. “For the students, their lives are about to be much better when the Student Center is complete and the construction is removed from that area, as you will truly have a quad that is complete (Student Center, Jerry Falwell Library, Center for Music and the Worship Arts, and the Science Hall).”

The lawn behind the Vines Center and the Commons is currently in the works as well. The lawn and walk will soon be improved as a result of the work. In the meantime, Askew hopes that the students are encouraged by future prospects of overall improved campus life at the expense of temporary inconvenience.

“We never forget the sacrifices the students give as we go through this process,” Askew said. “We hope they catch glimpses of completion they can be excited about, even if the entire picture is not complete before they may individually graduate.”

JARRETT is a news reporter.

news

Liberty Champion | April 5, 2016 | A3

Redesigning the system Office of Student Leadership and Campus Pastors Office roll out new changes Matthew Pierce mpierce17@liberty.edu

The student leaders on campus were informed at a leadership service Feb. 29 that beginning in the fall semester of 2016, the student leadership structure would change.

LU Shepherds, a new office, due to the restructuring of the Office of Spiritual Development, in conjunction with the Office of Student Leadership (OSL), will oversee the spiritual life of residential students.

Starting in July, David Wheeler, professor of evangelism and the executive director of the Center for Ministry Training, will begin serving as the executive director of LU Shepherds. According to Wheeler, the decision to make this change was done entirely with “the students in mind.”

“It’s not that it wasn’t working,” Wheeler said. “It’s the fact that we can make it better. … The whole point of this is to do the best thing for the student.”

The current leadership structure within OSL is a trickle-down style of leadership from Resident Directors all the way down to prayer and life group leaders. With these changes, the positions of spiritual life coach and prayer and life group leader have been moved under the office of LU Shepherds and renamed. From now on, the positions will be known as student shepherds and community leaders respectively and will be under the leadership of four male and four female shepherds.

According to Stephen Myers, the associate director of prayer and life group leaders in OSL, this change is similar to how things operated when he was a prayer leader during his freshman year at Liberty 10 years ago.

“When I was a prayer leader my first year here, I was a prayer leader under the Campus Pastors Office,” Myers said. “My RA was under the Resident’s Life Office, but in reality on the hall, I couldn’t have told you there was anything different.”

While Wheeler will be the executive director of LU Shepherds next year, Tim Griffin, the current executive director of the Campus Pastors Office, will serve as the director of LU Shepherds next year.

According to Wheeler and Griffin, in-

Matthew Pierce | Liberty Champion

COMMUNITY — The 2016-2017 RAs and student shepherds talked about their halls at the annual leadership fair in hopes of attracting community leaders. stead of the former trickle-down system, Resident Assistants and student shepherds will operate at the same level while serving the students on their hall. The difference between the positions of Resident Director and Resident Assistant is that they perform “residential leadership through a spiritual lens” while student shepherds and community leaders will perform “spiritual leadership through a residential lens.”

Griffin explained there will be two fulltime staff members directly responsible for weekly training and administrative details

regarding the student shepherds. Additionally, eight shepherds will serve as spiritual mentors for the 241 student shepherds providing day-to-day spiritual support and accountability on a 30 to 1 ratio.

More recently, Wheeler and Griffin were tasked with narrowing down the potential candidates for Student Shepherds to the amount of spots available and placing them around campus for the upcoming school year.

“As much as possible, we relied on the system that was in place in years past,”

Griffin said. “So what we did was we looked at the ranking system, looked at the rankings that the RDs had given, and then we sat down with our staff … and from that we basically put together a list of about 500 students.”

After those 500 interviews, where the list was shortened to the 241 available positions, a mixer was held March 22 for Resident Assistants and student shepherds to meet and talk about working together in the upcoming school year. Both parties had the opportunity to then fill out a preference form where they could write a few names of who they would most like to work with.

“I would say probably 70 percent of the pairings were almost perfect matches based on preferences,” Griffin said.

Further, Wheeler pointed out that the main purpose of all of this restructuring was to move the Campus Pastors Office closer to the students. He shared stories of countless times where the Campus Pastors Office would not find out about a difficult situation in a student’s life until weeks after it had passed and that they felt helpless at that point.

“The whole idea was, how do we take the Campus Pastors Office and move it closer to the students?” Wheeler said. “How do we get closer into the students’ lives if we don’t have people in the dorms who are also hands and feet in there?”

Both Myers within the OSL and Wheeler and Griffin from the LU Shepherds office expressed how incredible the communication has been between the two offices during this season of change. According to Myers, there are currently 1,061 prayer and life group leaders on campus and that in the multiple meetings he has per week with members of LU Shepherds, they cover all the logistics of handling all of these students moving under the leadership of a new office.

“Change is always difficult, but I can assure you that the whole point of this is to really improve this for the student,” Wheeler said.

PIERCE is a news reporter.

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OPINION

A4

April 5, 2016

Twitter celebrates a decade

The social media site has revolutionized the way people receive information

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MEDIA — Twitter made interaction with others around the world much easier and has allowed people to access more information.

Brianna Young bdyoung4@liberty.edu

Twitter turned 10 years old March 21.

Since its creation, the popular social media outlet has impacted the way people socialize and get their news, ushering in a social media era characterized by quick, easy-todigest tweets that cover everything from current events, celebrity news and whatever inspirational quote friends are posting.

Without a doubt, Twitter has had a massive impact on the social world. Individuals tired of Facebook, a forum that has in-

creasingly featured more ads and long posts from friends and family, switched over to Twitter in droves. The 140 character limit in a tweet makes it easy to get the most important news without sifting through less important details. Additionally, following friends, celebrities and favorite companies on Twitter is far easier to do than on any other social media outlet.

“Twitter has undoubtedly changed the way people communicate online, most notably with its 140-character format that, for better or worse, urges users to be judicious with their words,” Business Insider writer Brian Logan said. “The social platform has

also become a go-to for following world events in real time.”

Undoubtedly, the most impactful change that Twitter has made in the world is that of news consumption.

In an age where people no longer have the time to read a newspaper or flip to the evening news, keeping up to date with what is going on around the world is a cinch on Twitter. By simply following a few news organizations on the social media platform, the biggest news pieces of the day are posted and linked directly to Twitter.

An ingenious invention, the “hashtag,” also arose from Twitter. Although the

pound key existed long before Twitter, its popularity and usefulness arose when adding that little symbol grouped every topic in that category in an easy to search database.

Its usefulness has been exhibited through tracking trending topics around the world and heading up online campaigns.

According to BBC technology reporter Dave Lee, the “hashtag” and Twitter have made it easy for people to reach out to politicians with important issues.

“Twitter has cemented itself as a digital soapbox, and a place for politicians to engage directly with people — making major announcements along the way,” Lee said.

The ease of communication and use of the “hashtag” has also played its part in saving lives. When Paris came under attack in 2015, people took to Twitter not only to warn others of what was happening and to update the news, but also to offer people who could not get home a safe place to stay. Those who had a place to offer travelers who were stuck in the city were encouraged to tweet “#PorteOuverte,” French for “Open Door.”

From providing ease of communication with friends and strangers alike, to changing the face of news and saving lives, Twitter’s 10 years have had an overwhelmingly positive impact.

It can be argued that use of the social media site is not always in the best interest of the users due to overuse and oversimplification. However, it cannot be ignored that Twitter has become a tool for contacting people once unreachable by the masses and providing breaking news and life saving tips to those who need it the most.

YOUNG is an opinion writer.

Should Sanders drop out?

Democratic candidates fight for young voters as the campaign winds down Carrington Garber cgarber6@liberty.edu

Bernie Sanders, the former political activist and “armchair psychologist,” is in his armchair no longer. He has transformed his political activism into a career, and he is now running for president.

Richard Sugarman, a former roommate of Sanders, was accustomed to his arguing of legislative dreams late into the night.

These dreams have now drawn the support of 1,011 delegates in the presidential primaries.

While 1,011 may sound like an impressive number, and is certainly a step up from the repeated election defeats garnishing his early career, it pales in comparison to Hillary Clinton’s 1,712 delegate votes.

The wild, whispy-haired Sanders has toted his heavily-socialist agenda across the nation and has captured the attention and support of the youngest demographic of voters. According to a CNN poll, Sanders earned 83 percent of those voting in the age group of 18-29. While he has locked down this youngest tier, who ac-

count for one-fifth of the total electorate, Sanders has failed to appeal to the elder voters or to those of political influence.

As Politico’s Burgess Everet wrote, Sanders has not gained the endorsement of a single Democratic senator. Clinton, on the other hand, boasts endorsements from 40 current U.S. senators. Aaron Bycoffe, a writer for fivethirtyeight.com, created an endorsement chart — updated daily — that keeps track of approvals from representatives, senators and governors.

According to this chart, Clinton maintains support from 159 representatives, 40 senators and 13 governors. Sanders claims seven representatives, no senators and no governors. The support that Clinton is receiving from Washington D.C. looms over the Sanders campaign, and political elite are beginning to call for his withdrawal from the race.

Sen. Barbara Mikulski of Maryland feels that it would be best for the party if Sanders were to drop out.

“It will be almost impossible for Sen. Sanders to catch

A TES NO

HAYWOOD

“If (X candidate) becomes president, I’m moving to Canada.”

For many years now, people have carelessly tossed around this empty ultimatum. Usually, this claim has little to no weight, as they are back saying the same thing four years later.

However, with the glorified circus we have dubbed the 2016 presidential election drawing closer and closer to its November conclusion, it appears American citizens are sincerely considering heading north to Canada.

According to huffingtonpost. com, when Republican presidential

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CAMPAIGN — Sen. Bernie Sanders falls behind in Democratic race. up,” Mikulski said. “He should do the math and draw his own conclusions.”

According to Jennifer Steinhauer of The New York Times, after interviewing a number of Democratic senators, the left-winged elite find Clinton to be “simply more qualified and more electable.”

With November approach-

candidate Donald Trump did damage on Super Tuesday in March, many Americans began to search for legal ways to migrate to our northern neighbors. The Google search “how to move to Canada” surged 2,450 percent after Trump won seven states on Super Tuesday. Those numbers doubled that of a similar search in 2004 when George W. Bush was re-elected.

The anti-Trump train is not the only one leaving the station with sights set for Canada. Democratic candidates Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton have their fair share of American citizens who do not wish to see those two anywhere near the White House. For that group, the option of Canada has been mulled over as well.

I completely understand. We as

ing, Democratic activists hope to turn their attention from their eccentric fellow Democrat to those whom they deem more formidable competition — the GOP hopefuls.

It would be in the best interests of the Democratic Party for Sen. Sanders to bow out — especially considering his supporters’ demographic. College

Americans have not been presented with the most ideal list of candidates.

Just look at this year’s front-runners.

We have a liar, a socialist and a man void of any political experience. The list is so unfavorable, people are not actually going to vote for a candidate because they agree with him or her.

This year, people intend to vote for one candidate just so the other will not be elected.

After reviewing all that information, it is hard to want to stick around and see how this whole thing plays out. However, that is what I intend to do.

I love my country. I love what it was built upon, and in certain instances, I love what it stands for. I am by no means saying those who wish to leave do not, but I am not the type to up and walk away from something

students like to stand behind a cause. For 83 percent of young voters, this year’s cause was to ‘Feel the Bern’ and elect Bernie Sanders in 2016. Should this cause prove impossible, many of these supporters have made clear that they will cast no vote rather than vote for Clinton, according to the Huffington Post.

Adam Burch, 28, a Sanders supporter from Minneapolis, voiced this sentiment.

“I will never support Hillary Clinton,” Burch said. “She stands for everything that I’m against.

It’s Bernie or nothing.”

The Clinton campaign needs more time to target such voters in its advertising — with Sanders in the way, this is impossible.

Clinton supporters are calling for Sanders’ withdrawal. If he answers this beckon, voters will likely be subjected to a different tone of campaign materials from the Clinton campaign.

Watch out young voters — Clinton wants your vote, and she is going to be coming your way.

GARBER is an opinion writer.

I love. Yes, our country is not in the most pristine condition. And I cannot say with any confidence that any of the candidates will do a thing to make it better. If anything, I believe they will make it worse. And that is why I am not going anywhere. We can no longer rely on our government to “fix” our nation. It is the people who hold the fate of our country in their hands.

I do not imagine it will be easy, and much prayer will be needed. But I firmly trust that in the middle of all the madness, God remains in control. After all, sometimes he gives us the leaders we need, but sometimes, he gives us the leaders we deserve.

HAYWOOD is the editor-in-chief.

opinion

Liberty Champion | April 5, 2016 | A5

PRIMARIES FOR DUMMIES A CONTINUING SERIES

by

PART 4

LEE SUTHERLAND lsutherland6@liberty.edu

On a contested convention and the potential nominees.

If you had told me in November that there would be a contested convention in the Republican nomination, I would have laughed at you. Now it truly seems like this will be a reality July 18 in Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio.

A contested convention is when none of the candidates reach 1,237 delegates — the majority needed at the end of the election process. FiveThirtyEight’s expert panel projected that Donald Trump would end up with 1,208, sending this year’s convention into that scenario.

The rules of a contested convention can be confusing and can leave the door open for another candidate other than Trump to swoop in and win the nomination. At the convention, the delegates from each state will vote on the first ballot for the candidate whom citizens of their state voted for. If no candidate receives the 1,237 necessary to win the nomination, further rounds of voting will be done until one candidate wins the majority of the delegates.

Yet, as more ballots are cast, certain rules free the delegates to vote as they wish. Each state has different rules on the number of ballots it takes to free these delegates up; however, many of these will be able to vote for whomever they want after the second and third ballots.

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CONVENTION — According to projections, no candidate will earn 1,237 delegates.

The last time that a convention advanced past a first ballot was the 1952 Democratic convention, which chose Adlai Stevenson as its nominee, according to ABC News. There are many signs that this year’s convention could be just like the 1952 one, and these signs also look bad for Trump.

According to Politico, “Already more than a 100 delegates are poised to break with him (Trump) on a second ballot.”

The reason for this is that many of these delegates are either party leaders or people

who are actively involved in the state party workings. These people tend to be those who stand against Trump and his policies.

Another interesting factor in all the delegate maneuverings is that the delegates previously won by Trump could be up for grabs for other candidates because of technicalities. After Trump’s renunciation of the pledge signed by all the candidates stating that they would support whomever the eventual nominee would be, his 50 delegates in South Carolina became uncertain. The Nevada caucus won by

Trump earlier this year could be another place where he loses delegates, as the shady voting process could be challenged.

All of this leaves the door open for Sen. Ted Cruz or any other candidate who could gain momentum on the convention floor. Cruz has come on strong of late with a solid finish in Utah and strong polling numbers in Wisconsin. It is conceivable that Cruz could ride the momentum of consecutive victories leading into the convention in Ohio and convince many of these delegates that he is the best candidate to face the Democratic nominee.

Yet others have stated that the nominee could be someone who has not run at all in this year’s election. Karl Rove, former senior advisor to President George W. Bush, said in an interview with radio host Hugh Hewitt that a “fresh face” could be a good thing for the party.

“A fresh face might be the thing that could give us a chance to turn this election and win in November against Hillary,” Rove said.

This seems improbable, but in a year where almost everything that has happened has defied logic and precedent, it cannot be ruled out.

SUTHERLAND is the opinion editor.

Millennials reject religion

Religious disaffiliation opens the door for the church to minister to young adults Samantha Rozenblum serozenblum@liberty.edu

Most people are not surprised to hear that fewer young Americans identify as religious or attend regular services than members of any other living generation.

It seems that millennials would rather skip youth group and Sunday service and opt to drop the religious practices of their parents.

Thus, education, government, social practices and the like are being swallowed up in the ambiguity of secularism, while the conservatives of old tremble at the possible implications of a godless society.

People in their 20s and early 30s account for more than a third of the country’s “nones,” an academic nickname for the religiously disaffiliated. Whether the generations before them like it or not, millennials are choosing to make their own rules regarding identity, marriage, life, relationships, morality and coping, which have been historically defined by religion.

Twenty-five percent of millennials are unaffiliated with any particular faith, rising above the 20 percent unaffiliated rate of Generation Y and even further above the six percent unaffiliated rate of the Greatest Generation (born before 1928), according to the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life published in 2010.

However, it is intriguing to note that although millennials are not as religious as older Americans by some measures of religious observance, they are still as likely to

engage in many practices that are considered “spiritual.”

According to the Pew researchers, 46 percent of these young adults say they feel a deep sense of wonder about the universe at least once a week, very similar to the statistic for older Americans.

Likewise, most also say they think about the meaning and purpose of life on a weekly basis (55 percent), again, similar to older generations. Roughly three-quarters of millennials feel a strong sense of gratitude or thankfulness at least weekly (76 percent), and 51 percent say they feel a deep sense of spiritual peace and wellbeing at least once a week.

So while millennials are skipping out on church and organized religion, they are still asking the same life questions and experiencing the same longings. Without the Church to give these young people answers or direction, the web of secular humanism and relative truth is theirs to weave.

As Liberty students, present or former, it is crucial to consider the generational slide away from religion toward secularism and to conduct ourselves appropriately while building careers (Ecclesiastes 3:22) and relationships.

Religious rights, sexual orientation, economic disparity, immigration, abortion and other issues in the news today all stem from society’s apparent lack of biblical guidelines.

Though religion provides structure, it does not necessarily build relationships.

Corrie Mitchell, author of

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MILLENNIALS— Twenty-five percent of millennials no longer affiliate with a particular faith or religion.

“Five Churchy Phrases Millennials Want to Hear,” highlights the fact that seven out of 10 millennials who left the church did not have a close friendship with an adult, and nearly nine out of 10 never had a mentor in the church.

“Many churches have tried to reinvent (themselves) by bringing in a hipster pastor, amping up social media presence, and opening a church café — but none of that will bring Millennials to the pews,” writes Mitchell. “Neither will watered-down Christian doctrine. Deep down, what Mil-

lennials crave is a church that will speak Jesus into our daily lives in a meaningful, authentic way.”

As Liberty students leave the homogeny of on-campus life and enter the secular world, there are a few truths about church history and about the gospel that cannot be forgotten.

Most importantly, Christ has already overcome the world, even at its most pagan and secular.

God is always at work. Man is always sinful. Alas, there is nothing new under the sun.

“We make a huge mistake if

we forget that people get saved one at a time as unique individuals, not as mere specimens of the ‘culture,’” theologian John Piper writes. “At any given moment in the secularization of our culture, God is at work in 10,000 ways to prepare particular individuals to hear the gospel.”

ROZENBLUM is an opinion writer.

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR POLICIES & INFO Nate Haywood editor-in-chief

Paul Vandenbosch

Gabriella Fuller graduate assistant

Joel Schmieg asst. sports editor

CONTENT

Amber Tiller

Sarah Rodriguez news editor

Quinn Foley asst. news editor Lee Sutherland opinion editor

sports editor

feature editor

Jacob Clarke

PHOTOGRAPHY

SOCIAL MEDIA

Leah Seavers

Josh Gordon

photography editor

Michela Diddle asst. photography editor DESIGN

copy editor

Sierra Franklin

Ellie Fraser

graphic designer

copy editor

Alexander Doub graphic designer

social media manager

Jomer Bunque web manager

ADMINISTRATION Deborah Huff faculty advisor

Omar Adams advertising director

The Champion encourages community members to submit letters to the editor on any subject. Letters should not exceed 400 words and must be typed and signed. The deadline is 5 p.m. Friday. Letters and columns that appear are the opinion of the author solely, not the Champion editorial board or Liberty University.

Send letters to: Liberty Champion Liberty University, Box 2000, Lynchburg, VA 24515 or drop off in DeMoss Hall 1035.

All material submitted becomes property of the Champion. The Champion reserves the right to accept, reject or edit any letter received— according to the Champion stylebook, taste and the Liberty University mission statement. © Copyright 2016 Liberty University, Inc. All Rights Reserved

news

A6 | April 5, 2016 | Liberty Champion

Making your voice heard

Registration deadline approaches for students to vote for Lynchburg city officials will serve until Thurmon’s term expires at the end of next year. Candidates for the position include Republican Brian Keith Triplett, Independent Robert L. Bailey, and current Lynchburg Vice-Mayor Independent Ceasor T. Johnson.

While Liberty students come to Lynchburg from all over the country, more students have begun taking an interest in the decisions made by the city council and are expressing their views by registering to vote.

“This is where (students) work, spend money, pay rent, buy groceries and contribute to the economy,” Hanson said. “It is important to vote in Lynchburg since a lot of students live here for nine out of 2016 months the year.”

The strength of the Liberty student body at the polls has not gone unnoticed. Since students started getting involved in Lynchburg city elections, several policy changes have taken place that will affect the lives of both current and future students.

Liberty students’ participation at the polls also resulted in the construction of the pedestrian bridge over Wards Road and the creation of the new zoning classification Liberty received this past fall.

According to the Lynchburg registrar, there are more than 3,000 active voters currently registered to vote at the Vines Center precinct. However, the Virginia Department of Elections reported that only 1,200 individuals voted in the presidential primary election earlier this year.

Hanson said the Dean of Students Office is working on plans to use voter registration software that will notify students of upcoming elections and deadlines for updating their registration information. She hopes that by being proactive and keeping students informed, they can encourage improved voter turnout in future elections.

OTE

Courtney Russo| Liberty Champion

POLLING CENTER — Liberty students are able to exercise their right to vote in the Vines Center.

Elizabeth Lapp elapp@liberty.edu

Liberty University students and Lynchburg City residents have until April 11 to register to vote or update their voter information before the May 3 city council elections.

The Dean of Students Office has been holding voting drives in the Jerry Falwell Library throughout the month of March in preparation for the local election. Morgan Hanson, the assistant director of programming with the Dean of Students Office, has organized many of the registration efforts and hopes that students will recognize the importance of voting in local elections.

“Local elections impact daily life,”

Hanson said. “A lot of students stay in the Lynchburg area, and issues that they vote on in 2016 will impact them in 2019 when they are commuter students or recent graduates.”

One more voter registration drive will be held in the Jerry Falwell Library April 6 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Students can also visit the Dean of Students Office in Green Hall 1830 to complete a voter registration form or to update their voter information until April 8. Students with a Virginia driver’s license can also register or update their information at vote.elections.virginia.gov/ voterinformation.

According to Hanson, Liberty now has the voter registration software, Turbo Vote.

“Students can go to liberty.turbovote. org to register to vote, update their voter

information, and to sign up for election reminders,” Hanson said. “Students who do not have a Virginia driver’s license can complete the online voter registration form with TurboVote, print the registration, and drop it off at the Dean of Students Office in Green Hall 1830 instead of mailing the form into the Virginia Registrar’s Office.

Students registered to vote on campus will be voting to select a Lynchburg City Council member for Ward III. Candidates for the position include Independent Albert “Al” Billingsly, Independent Charleta F. Mason and the current Ward III council member Republican Jeff S. Helgeson.

Also on the ballot is a special election to replace Lynchburg City Treasurer David Thurmon, who retired in October.

The candidate elected to fill his position

LAPP is a news reporter.

Keys to a healthy lifestyle Wellness Series emphasizes the importance of good sleep and proper nutrition Shannon Ritter sritter2@liberty.edu

Students gathered once again for a Wellness Series presentation Thursday, March 31 by Liberty’s registered dietitian Kristina DiSanto. The presentation was titled, “The Brain Necessities: Sleep & Nutrition.”

DiSanto addressed the consequences of not sleeping and not getting proper nutrition,

especially for college students who generally keep busy and push things like sleep to the back burner.

“At universities, people are low on sleep and high on stress,” DiSanto said. “Sleep affects all aspects of our lives — what we eat (and) how we act.”

A lack of sleep, she said, contributes to forgetfulness, fatigue, moodiness, weight gain, impaired judgment, aging of skin and even depression.

DiSanto said many people do not realize the importance of getting a proper amount of sleep, which is between seven and nine hours a night.

“Sleep protects our mental health, physical health and emotional health,” DiSanto said. “It helps with repair in our bodies when we need to recover.”

Getting good sleep strengthens the immune system, which is why a student will catch a cold after not sleeping much, according to DiSanto.

Finally, proper sleep also aids in memory consolidation, where the information that the brain took in throughout the day is moved from

short-term memory to long-term memory while sleeping.

“Pulling an all-nighter the night before an exam is pretty much the worst thing ever because you won’t retain any of the information,” DiSanto said.

She gave students a few tips for getting better sleep, such as aiming for seven to nine hours per night and maintaining sleep consistency, meaning going to bed and getting up around the same time every day. DiSanto said she personally puts all her screens (phone, laptop, tablet, etc.) away one hour before it is time for her to go to bed.

“Nutrition is the other aspect,” DiSanto said. “(Sleep and nutrition) really do go hand in hand.”

She described the consequences of the body constantly getting poor nutrition, such as reduced immunity, impaired physical, mental and emotional development, increased susceptibility to disease, and decreased energy levels.

“We’ve all been there, and we just don’t feel good,” DiSanto said. “We feel sluggish mentally and physically. It also affects us emotionally because we feel bad about ourselves afterwards.”

Nutrition, she said, affects the brain’s ability to think, learn, remember, focus and stay alert.

DiSanto then described the essentials to proper nutrition: carbohydrates, proteins and fats.

“Carbohydrates are the most essential thing for our brain, so don’t ever go on a no-carb diet,” DiSanto said. “Carbs don’t make you fat. The problem is in the portions. Portion size is a really important factor, and as a country, our portions are really skewed right now.”

Good carbohydrates to consume include whole grains, fruits and vegetables, quinoa, potatoes, beans and carrots. She said as far as proteins go, it is important to

Shannon Ritter| Liberty Champion

FUEL — Students learned how essential sleep and nutritious eating are to a college student’s health. choose lean sources of protein, to consume a variety of different ones day by day, and to aim for around 30 grams of protein each sitting.

“Now, it’s a little different after a workout,” DiSanto said. “You only need about 15 grams of protein. You need a good combination of carbs, proteins and fats to get that absorption and for your body to start repairing itself.”

Finally, healthy fats are also important, according to DiSanto, such as avocados, nuts, fish, seeds, eggs, yogurt and cooking with extra virgin olive oil. She said to avoid fried foods and to consume baked goods in moderation.

The last step in DiSanto’s pre-

sentation was hydration. “(Good) hydration helps keep those brain cells going, and (they are) less effective if you are dehydrated,” DiSanto said. “(It) affects your focus and reflexes. We don’t think about it much, but if you’re dehydrated, your reflexes are way off and it’s just not good.”

She added that proper hydration supplies energy for the brain and helps it to think clearly and quickly. DiSanto said students should drink half of their body weight in ounces of water every day. She also suggested making clear goals to drink enough water each day.

Megan Long, who works for Liberty and has attended

the Wellness Series previously, said she found this presentation to be very helpful, especially the section about hydration.

She said what she learned will affect her daily life. “(It affects) the choices I make, the food I eat, (and) the time I set aside for sleep,” Long said. “It really encouraged me to take ownership of my health, and it felt like it gave me the tools I needed to succeed in that.”

The next Wellness Series, “Eat Healthy on a Budget,” will take place April 5 from 5:30-6:15 p.m. at the Terrace Conference Room in the Jerry Falwell Library.

RITTER is a news reporter.

news

Liberty Champion | April 5, 2016 | A7

‘Jack and Luke with you’ Students elect the 2016-2017 student body president and vice president Amber Tiller atiller2@liberty.edu

Current Vice President of Liberty University’s Student Government Association (SGA) Jack Heaphy and his running mate, Luke Welgoss, won by more than 1,400 votes in the 2016-2017 SGA election Friday, April 1.

Overall, more than 3,500 students voted.

Last year, only 2,900 voted, according to Jacob Broadway, chief justice of SGA. “Our goal was to increase voter turnout,” Broadway said. “This year, we set a lofty goal of 6,000.”

While the number fell short of SGA’s target, SGA increased their exposure among students at the presidential debate Thursday, March 31.

More than 150 people filled DeMoss 4040 to watch Heaphy, Welgoss and the other candidates, Jacob Munden and Caleb Long, debate campus safety, gun control on campus, off-campus living, and other topics during the event. Broadway said approximately 100 people also viewed the debate on Periscope, a live video feed from The Liberty Champion’s Twitter page.

The attendance at the event was five times greater than last year’s 35 attendees.

Broadway thought SGA’s changes to this event contributed to the large turnout. Last year, the informal nature of the debate allowed students to question randomly without a real itinerary or commentator and no one to control or guide the debate.

The SGA wanted a more organized event, so they included three moderators, Broadway, the Champion’s Editor-In-Chief

RJ Goodwin| Liberty Champion

DISCUSS — The SGA duo ran under the slogan “Jack and Luke with you.”

Nate Haywood, and Kelsey Gold, a representative of the Student Commuter Association. Gold also brought insight about clubs on campus because of her active participation in multiple Liberty clubs.

The moderators controlled the debate, asking questions generated from polling by the Champion and the SGA, and no outside questions were allowed.

While the debate brought more attention to the election, Broadway said the volunteers for the “Jack & Luke” campaign helped the team substantially and might have been a major player in the win.

Broadway said the friendliness of the volunteers and the number — nearly 100 — scattered across campus for “Jack & Luke” helped the duo with exposure. The duo was penalized though — docked more than 200 votes.

According to Broadway, SGA upholds a rule about campaigning before and after Convocation.

Candidates may not advertise for the election within 100-feet of the Vines Center 30 minutes before or 30 minutes after Convocation, Broadway said.

“It’s to respect the nature of Convocation and just the type of setting it is,” Broadway said. “We don’t want students to leave Convocation and be bombarded by SGA volunteers saying, ‘Have you voted yet?’”

The “Jack & Luke” tent sat less than 50 feet outside of the Vines Center as students filtered out immediately after Convocation Friday, so SGA reviewed the situation and took away any votes placed within 30 minutes after Convocation for “Jack & Luke.”

Broadway also said the rule was imple-

mented so SGA would not be responsible for making students tardy to Convocation or their classes afterward.

Welgoss commented on the penalty, saying the team knew about the rule, but they started the campaigning outside of the Vines Center too early.

Broadway said overall, the penalty did not affect the outcome. The team still took more than 2,400 votes while the competition, “Munden and Long,” had just more than 1,000 votes.

As Heaphy and Welgoss step into office next semester, they believe their prior experience, Heaphy’s role as vice president and Welgoss’ club involvement, will help the duo serve the students. “(The SGA members are) doing our jobs and working together in unison to really represent the students well,” Heaphy said after the win.

Heaphy said he also wants to continue working with this past year’s progress from the Thompson and Heaphy Administration.

“We’ve been able to streamline our clubs department, diversify (SGA’s) representation, and sponsor student initiatives,” Heaphy said. “Next year, it’s going to be building on that success.”

Welgoss also said he wanted Liberty to host a church fair, allowing local churches to engage with students, leading to more involvement in the community.

Heaphy and Welgoss will officially come into office during the fall of 2016.

TILLER is the feature editor.

Heigh ho, up the trail we go As the weather warms up, precautions must be taken when going hiking

Hayden Robertson hbrobertson@liberty.edu

According to statista.com, from 2009-2013, hiking was the fifth most popular outdoor activity. As more Americans become interested in hiking, many aspects of the activity need to be evaluated before going out on the trails.

While hiking is often a safe and fun activity for people to enjoy, hiking is also very strenuous and can lead to serious issues if hikers are not careful along the trails. In light of the many recent accidents in Lynchburg and the surround-

ing areas, hikers must remember how dangerous it can be and to follow hiking safety procedures while enjoying the fun time and great views.

“I think one of the biggest things even before you get out on the trail is that you need to prepare,” Lynchburg Parks and Recreation Chief Naturalist Debbie Hoffbeck said. “If you are not prepared, you are going to run into trouble.”

Whether hikers are hiking for a day or making a weekend trip of it, being unprepared for anything to happen is a hiker’s

Leah Seavers| Liberty Champion

ADVENTURE — Students have enjoyed hiking to see the sunrise.

weakness. While hiking for a day does not require many supplies, knowing the area and what to bring is important.

“First of all, research the area that you are going to,” Hoffbeck said. “That means looking at trail maps, having a trip planned with someone knowing where you are, who you are with, (and) what time you are going, and letting those people know when you are back.

Also, for preparation, make sure you are taking the things that you need to take with you.”

Hoffbeck said that for any hike, hikers should have their backpack, plenty of water, high-energy snacks and some type of first aid kit for any accidents that could happen. She also recommended taking a bright piece of clothing or cloth for the hike.

Hikers should not hike unless there are proper weather conditions. They need to stay updated on the weather conditions before setting onto the trail, or they could be caught unprepared. Wearing the right clothing while hiking is another important task.

“The weather can change in a heartbeat,” Hoffbeck said. “I always tell the hikers to not wear cotton because cotton gets wet, and it’s going to retain moisture,

causing the hiker to get chilled on a 65-degree day. When your clothes get wet, that can cause hypothermia. I recommend layers, synthetics, and having rain gear. If you have all of those things, I would say you are off to a great start.”

Hikers know it can be dangerous to hike alone, but hikers in groups need to remember to have everyone in their group present. Hikers should stay together at all times in order to make sure of everyone’s safety.

“I always recommend that everyone stay with their group,” Hoffbeck said. “Everyone should be in sight of each other and know where everyone is going.”

Hikers in groups also need to make sure they are walking at a decent speed for everyone to keep up with in their group. Not all hikers are as experienced as others or have the same stamina.

“I think another great thing is to pace yourself,” Hoffbeck said.

“I don’t know if you’ve ever gone out with groups (where) some people are running way ahead of everybody and leaving the rest of the group behind. Well now, if something happens, like an emergency, no one even knows.”

Hoffbeck also said new hikers

should be careful when they first hike, and they need to start at an easy pace. She said it is not wise for new hikers to do a 10-mile long trail with a heavy backpack.

If hikers are unfamiliar with the area surrounding the trail, they are prone to getting lost. If hikers know what to do, they can be found.

“Make a hiking plan with someone because they know where you are supposed to be,” Hoffbeck said. “That is where they are going to start looking for you if they do have to send out a search and rescue team for you.”

She said hikers also need to be aware of trail markers that tell them where to go, as getting off of the trail can bring harm to both the hiker and the trail.

While hiking can be a great outdoor activity for people to enjoy, hikers need to remember to stay safe and to keep everyone else in their group safe. For more information on hiking, hiking safety or hiking clubs in the area, visit nps.gov/shen/ planyourvisit/safety.htm or nbatc.org/clubcontacts.htm.

ROBERTSON is a news reporter.

Stuffed with encouragement

The annual ALD Teddy Bear Drive collects 200 bears for hospitalized children David Moraes dmoraes@liberty.edu

Every year, Liberty’s chapter of the Alpha Lambda Delta Honor Society (ALD) sets out to give hospitalized children a reason to smile. The ALD’s annual Teddy Bear Drive, in partnership with the pediatric unit at Lynchburg General Hospital, was held this year from March 21-24.

ALD was able to deliver roughly 200 teddy bears to the hospital March 25. Carson Smith, co-secretary of ALD, said her involvement with the event stems from her own experiences.

“The reason I wanted to be in charge of the Teddy Bear Drive was because I

was hospitalized in middle school,” Smith said. “I still have the stuffed animal that my church sent me.

It really meant a lot to me.

Having something to sit on your bed and fill up that space where your parents are normally visiting during visiting hours was really important to me. It shows someone cares.”

Smith said ALD puts out boxes around the school and encourages ALD members to get involved in donating. She said they collect new teddy bears, coloring books, crayons, sippy cups and other items that the hospital might be asking for.

According to Smith, however, recent years have

seen a steady decline in donations, forcing the ALD to be more innovative.

“We set up shop in the library this year, and we sold some teddy bears that we had bought in bulk,” Smith said. “We just sold them to students and put them in the donation box, and then that supplemented the donation boxes that we normally receive.”

While acknowledging the importance of such initiatives, Bessie Grayson, administrative advisor for ALD, worries about the impact that donations can have on immunocompromised children.

“We understand that there are other clubs or departments here on

campus who do teddy bear drives, and they will accept used teddy bears, you know, ‘slightly loved’ teddy bears,” Grayson said. “But with ALD, we can only accept brand-new ones, simply because they are going into the hospital for the children.”

In the end, both Smith and Grayson were pleased with the year’s results.

“Considering it was our first year selling the bears and also that we were only accepting cash, I actually thought we did really well,” Smith said. “I would like to see more on-campus participation next year.”

MORAES is a news reporter.

Photo Provided| Liberty Champion

SERVICE — ALD members organized the donations.

news

A8 | April 5, 2016 | Liberty Champion

Fighting for freedom Freedom 4/24 will host annual 5K for the first time on Liberty’s campus April 30 Shannon Ritter sritter2@liberty.edu

Freedom 4/24, a non-profit organization dedicated to raising awareness of the sexual exploitations and human trafficking of women and children around the world, will be hosting its ninth Run 4 Their Lives race in Lynchburg, Virginia Saturday, April 30.

This will be the first time the race takes place on Liberty’s campus.

Along with raising awareness, the race is meant to gather financial support for efforts put out by Freedom 4/24 and other organizations to bring freedom to victims.

According to Tim Spaulding, president of the organization for the past three years, Freedom 4/24 was started in 2009 by Liberty alumna Christine Gelatt, whose last name was Pettit at the time. “(Gelatt) had done an internship in Thailand working with women during the summer, and (when she) came back she just felt a strong burden to do something about it,” Spaulding said.

“She said, ‘I can’t go back to my everyday life. … I have to do something about it.’”

Spaulding said Gelatt went around to family, friends and roommates and began raising money. He said it actually started as a ministry — their goal not necessarily being to form a large organization. Over time, however, their growth has been unstoppable.

“We started out by doing funding in Thailand, but after a short amount of time, we realized the (organization’s) potential and our mission expanded beyond just Thailand,” Spaulding said. “Our focus is bringing freedom and justice to victims and survivors of trafficking to raising awareness and raising funds to support

Sam Chappell | Liberty Champion

STRENGTH— Runners wrote the names of human trafficking victims on their arms while they raced. frontline organizations that are (already) doing the work.”

He said that the team at Freedom 4/24 looks at other organizations that have the same goals as well as a good track record and then support them financially.

“Instead of going and duplicating the efforts of other people, our vision is that the best use of

funds is to get behind organizations who are already making a great impact and helping them make an even bigger impact,” Spaulding said.

Spaulding said the Run 4 Their Lives races, which are held all over the country, are great catalysts for awareness in each community, bringing all aspects of that com-

munity — individuals, businesses and churches — together.

Spaulding said that last year, the Lynchburg race had a smaller turnout than previous years.

However, he believes the reason could be because the 2015 race was the first year the race was moved from the fall to the spring.

For 2016, he hopes to “cata-

lyze the university,” as this will be the first year the race is held on Liberty’s campus. “(Human trafficking) has been in the forefront of (society’s mind) for the last eight or 10 years, and we’re seeing more and more growth in people’s awareness,” Spaulding said. “We’re really excited about the opportunity to have it on Liberty’s campus. … In year’s past, we’ve had it at smaller colleges, and we were really limited by the size. … We’re excited about bringing awareness to the campus and community, and I think LU is going to be a great venue for that.”

Students and others in the Lynchburg community can get involved with Freedom 4/24 by fundraising or donating money to their cause. Students can also run the race for free if they receive $50 or more in sponsorships toward Run 4 Their Lives.

Spaulding said there is also always a need for volunteers and interns as well.

“A lot of it just comes down to, what are your skills, interests (and) passions?” Spaulding said. “This is such a huge global fight that we need people in every field. …

There’s a role that everyone can play. A lot of it is looking inside and saying, ‘What are my abilities, what are my skills, what has God gifted me with, and how can I use that to further this cause?’”

The registration price for Run 4 Their Lives is $24 for the 5k Run/Walk and $10 for the Fun Run up until April 15. After that, the price will increase.

To get more information or to sign up for the Run 4 Their Lives, visit freedom424.org/.

RITTER is a news reporter.

OPEN HOUSE A p r i l 7, 8 & 9

Open House

( Thursday-Saturday)

Noon to 6pm

April 7-11 - 12pm to 5pm.

40 Oasis Way | Lynchburg, VA 24502 | www.movetothevue.com

SPORTS

April 5, 2016

Softball (Gm.1)

Softball (Gm.2)

Hampton

Liberty

Hampton

Liberty

7

5

1

13

W. Tennis CSU

Liberty

4

3

B1

M. Lacrosse Florida

Liberty

6

18

Baseball

(series) Winthrop Liberty

3

0

Gators chomped

wind up

Denton Day dday26@liberty.edu

Leah Seavers | Liberty Champion

BRING IT — Pitcher Chandler Ball delivers a pitch during the Lady Flames 7-5 loss in the first game against Hampton.

Night and day Lady Flames falter in first game; run away with nightcap Luke Dillard mdillard1@liberty.edu

Game 1: Hampton 7, Liberty 5 The Liberty University Lady Flames (18-16, 5-1) softball team split an afternoon doubleheader against the Hampton University Lady Pirates (12-17, 4-2) Thursday, March 31, at Liberty Softball Stadium.

The Flames lost the first game 7-5 and bounced back to take the second contest 13-1 in just five innings.

The doubleheader was the second for the Lady Flames in as many days, as they split the series against the Virginia Tech Hokies in Blacksburg, Virginia, the night before.

The Lady Flames started out strong as freshman second baseman Sarah Robertson got the inning going with a leadoff triple, later scoring on a pitch that went through the catcher’s legs into the backstop which gave the Lady Flames a 1-0 lead.

Freshman right fielder Deidra See stepped to the plate later in the inning and hit the first home run of her career, a two-run shot that smashed into the scoreboard over the centerfield wall to grab a 3-0 lead.

“If (the pitch) was close, I was ready to crush it,” See said. “All I was thinking in my head was just crush the ball. I didn’t think it was going out at first. It’s an indescribable feeling.”

The Lady Pirates responded in the top of the fourth inning with a three-run home run from sophomore designated player Jada Fields to tie the game 3-3.

The Lady Flames added a run in the fourth on an RBI single from senior shortstop Mickey Loveridge that scored freshman pinch runner Jasmine Click to give the Lady Flames a 4-3 edge.

The Lady Pirates scored three more runs in the top of the fifth to take a 6-4 lead. Freshman left fielder Hope Sobelewski hit an RBI single to bring home senior center fielder Diamond Ponds.

WE’LL SEE YOU AT THE GAME

Senior first baseman Taylor McCoy smashed a two-RBI double into deep centerfield that scored Sobelewski and junior shortstop Danielle Budden.

The Lady Pirates later added another run in the top of the sixth inning when Lady Flames senior pitcher Chandler Ball walked Sobelewski with the bases loaded to score sophomore third baseman Lorena Alvarez.

The Lady Flames notched one more run in the bottom of the sixth on an RBI single from Robertson that scored Loveridge, but they were not able to overcome the remaining deficit, dropping the contest 5-7.

After game one, Lady Flames Head Coach Dot Richardson told her team they needed to bounce back with more energy for their second outing of the afternoon. The Lady Flames answered the call, scoring a season-high 13 runs on their way to defeating the Lady Pirates 13-1.

“We had a challenge today to come back (after losing game one) and have that much energy,” Richardson said. “Our team is very young. We have a lot of freshmen and sophomores. This was a test for them.”

The Liberty University men’s lacrosse team continued its home dominance with a 18-6 victory over the Florida Gators in the teams annual “Midnight Madness” game Friday April 1.

More than 4,000 fans were in attendance, finding seats all around the perimeter of the lacrosse field. Fans started pilling in before 11 p.m, but due to travel issues with the Gators, whose bus pulled up at 12:31 a.m., the game did not officially start until 12:49 a.m.

“Honestly, we were a little ticked off,” senior midfielder Bryce Mrakovich said. “We just used that to our advantage and tried to play level headed.”

Florida was given 10 minutes to warm-up as soon as they stepped off of the bus. Players were stretching and getting their equipment on when the starting lineups were being called out.

“I think our guys did a fantastic job of staying level headed,” Head Coach Kyle McQuillan said. “I think it helped that we had a couple thousand people here and nobody bailed on us. I told the guys that I don’t care if this game starts at 1 a.m. we’re getting this game in.”

The Flames wasted no time scoring, putting the first points on the board less than two minutes into the game. Freshman attacker Sam Gregory scored the first two goals for the Flames. The first of which came off of a Gator turnover at midfield that the Flames turned into a fast break attack. Mrakovich found Gregory for the score. Gregory did all the work on the second goal, running around the goal for a wrap around finish.

At the end of the first quarter, the Flames had a commanding 9-0 lead. Their fast pace attack slightly declined in the second quarter with the Flames only adding five goals, four of which came from the stick of sophomore attacker Nick Valentine giving him a hat trick in the second quarter alone. Liberty went into halftime with a 14-0 lead.

“The guys did exactly what we asked them to do,” McQuillan said.

Florida was able to add a few goals in the second half, but never came within 10 points of the Flames in the second half.

The Liberty scoring attack was headed by Valentine who finished with six goals, Mrakovich added two goals and five assists, senior attacker Ryan Miller scored two goals and tallied four assists and senior midfielder Brett Bernardo and Gregory each scored two as well.

“Florida has had some success in the SELC so there were some question marks as there was not a lot of competition that we

See CHOMPED, B2

Game 2: Liberty 13, Hampton 1 Freshman Chase Cassady got the start on the mound in the second game for the Lady Flames, and she shut down the Lady Pirates, allowing only one run on four hits while striking out six batters.

“I was really excited for Chase,” Richardson said. “We want her to be ready for postseason play. I think we are really going to need her. She was feeling the intensity. You could see how tight she was spinning the ball. She looked like she was really into it, and that is what we need. It’s exciting to see her have a performance like she did today.”

See DAY, B2

Michela Diddle | Liberty Champion

MOVE — Flames senior Brett Bernardo works against a Gator defender.

Baseball vs. Maryland

W. Lacrosse vs. Longwood

Baseball vs. CSU

Track & Field Baseball Collegiate Inv. vs. CSU

Apr. 5 @ 6 p.m.

Apr. 6 @ 4 p.m.

Apr. 8 @ 7 p.m.

Apr. 9 @ 10:30 a.m.

Apr. 9 @ 3 p.m.

Follow @LUChampSports for Flames athletics coverage

sports

B2 | April 5, 2016 | Liberty Champion

Serving up a victory Men’s tennis downs Radford 6-1 on senior day to improve to 9-8 overall Will Colier wcollier@liberty.edu

Kevin Manguiob | Liberty university

RETURN — Senior Egon Samaai is fourth in program history with 23 singles victories.

DAY continued from B1 The Lady Flames began the onslaught of runs in the first inning. See scored Robertson on an RBI single, followed by a twoRBI double from senior third baseman Kassidy McCoy, giving the Lady Flames a 3-0 lead.

The Lady Flames sent 10 batters out in the bottom half of the second inning, pouring on six more runs and stretching their lead to 9-0. Robertson continued her hot streak from the first game with a tworun double that scored freshman designated player Jaclyn Amader and sophomore center fielder Tori Zovodny.

Robertson scored on an RBI double from sophomore catcher Alexia Taylor.

Taylor then plated on an RBI single from See the next at-bat. Sophomore left fielder Cassie Gingerich hit a two-run single to score See and McCoy. The Lady Pirates finally broke into the box score in the top of the third inning on a double from Budden that scored freshman right fielder Kial Watts. But the Lady Flames never faltered and added more runs in the bottom of the third on a three-run homer from See, her second of the day.

Robertson continued her stellar performance in the bottom of the fourth, driving home Amader on an RBI single for the last run of the game and a 13-1 lead.

Richardson said she liked the way her team swung the bats in the second game and hopes her squad will continue their hot

streak at the plate as they head back into conference play.

“It’s not always easy to hit pitching like that,” Richardson said. “I’m really proud of our hitting today and us executing and getting the runs in.”

The Lady Flames will visit conference opponent Longwood for a three-game series that begins April 5 at 3 p.m. in Farmville, Virginia.

DILLARD is a sports reporter.

Liberty men’s tennis took down Big South Conference foe Radford on Senior Day March 31, by a score of 6-1 at the Sports Racket.

The Flames are 3-2 in Big South play and 9-8 overall after Thursday’s win.

Before the action began, seniors Jason Burgess and Egon Samaai were honored with a ceremony to reflect on their careers at Liberty.

Following the pre-game ceremony, Liberty junior Sam Matheson and Samaai played off the day’s momentum defeating Janken Thoen and Alexandros Caldwell 6-1 in the top doubles slot.

“We had good momentum to keep our thumbs on them and we were able to keep the momentum running and get the job done,” Samaai said.

The third position doubles team was the next to finish. The Highlanders took the win with sophomores Michiel Meekers and Jose Moreno Manzano prevailing against Flames freshmen Alex Poynter and Eddie Gutierrez.

With the crucial doubles point in the balance, Liberty sophomores David Bush and Diego Castano stepped up after falling to a 4-1 deficit, and came back to grab victory 7-6(7-3) over Nikhil Mannepalli and Samuel Taylor.

Samaai followed his great doubles play into his singles match to defeat Caldwell convincingly in straight sets 6-3, 6-3, notching his 71st career singles win. The victory gave Liberty a 2-0 advantage on the Highlanders.

Samaai is currently ranked fourth in program history with 23 singles victories. He needs four more wins to tie Shea Thomas (27) for the most singles wins in Liberty men’s tennis history, according to libertyflames.com.

CHOMPED continued from B1 had both played,” McQuillan said.

Liberty will take on Tennessee Saturday, April 9 at 1 p.m. and finish the season at home against rival Virginia Tech Friday, April 15 at 7 p.m. at home.

“We have not lost at home in four years,” McQuillan said. “To be able to try and defend that and have the number one seed potentially on the line in that final game will be huge.”

“To have our senior team captain … go out and lead us in doubles and get a win, then be the first off in singles with a win doesn’t surprise me on Senior Day,” Liberty Head Coach Chris Johnson said. “That’s the type of leadership Egon provides.”

Poynter was the next to finish at the fourth seed with a straight-set victory 6-3, 6-3 over Taylor pushing Liberty’s lead to 3-0.

After a back and forth first set, Matheson came away with a win in the set and the match 7-6(8-6), 6-3 to keep his undefeated season alive, which clinched the victory for the Flames.

“Sam’s just a special player,” Johnson said. “You don’t use the word special very often and Sam is that.”

Matheson marked his 15th win of the season to keep his lost column blank. He is now ranked No. 106 in the country, according to libertyflames.com.

Although the match was already won, Gutierrez fought hard at the third singles spot to rally back from his first set loss of 6-3. He captured the following two sets 6-2, 6-2.

“I knew if I kept my momentum, if I just kept playing my game, then I’d be able to beat this guy,” Gutierrez said.

At the fifth seed, Castano recorded the final victory for the Flames on the day winning against Mannepalli in straight sets 7-6(7-2), 7-6(7-2).

“Everyone’s a bit more hyped up for that last home match,” Samaai said. “Especially on Senior Day. Everyone’s trying to get the win even more for the seniors, and you really saw that out there today.”

With three more matches before the post season, Johnson said he hopes his team can continue to improve their consistency in different parts of the game.

COLLIER is a sports reporter.

A win against Tennessee would lock up a SouthEastern Lacrosse Conference (SELC) playoff spot for the Flames and make their game against the Hokies on Senior Night even more crucial. If the Flames beat the Volunteers the winner of the in-state matchup with Virginia Tech would likely take the conference’s regularseason title.

DAY is a sports reporter.

FYI The Lady Flames softball team only has one Big South loss in their first six conference games. Their next six games are against conference opponents.

Michela Diddle| Liberty Champion

VISION — Flames senior Chad Moore looks upfield for a pass against the Gators.

sports When Kobe Bryant announced at the beginning of the season he was going to retire once the season was over, we all knew there would be drama and emotion.

But did we really think it would only be about Kobe? I mean, it is the AUL Lakers after all.

VANDENBOSCH The Lakers and drama are like Ryan and Kelly from “The Office.” You know any “crisis” that arises will be ridiculous, but for some reason, you are still intrigued by it.

This new business with Lakers guard Nick Young and 2015 second-overall pick D’Angelo Russell is quite the pickle. In December, Russell took a video of the always-controversial Young admitting to cheating on his girlfriend, Iggy Azalea.

The video did not surface until March 31, when it was leaked by a gossip website.

The fallout has been tremendous.

From teammates isolating the rookie in the locker room to fans booing him every time he touches the ball, Russell has had a rough time these last few days.

Let me begin by saying that I am in no way condoning Young cheating on his girlfriend, regardless of the fact that it is Iggy Azalea. But D-Lo, what were you thinking?

First of all, Russell is the rookie on this team and was finally starting to fit into his role with Bryant’s playing time being reduced as the season winds down, and he might have just derailed that a bit. When you are new to a team, it is your job to earn your teammates’ trust, and allowing an incriminating video of a veteran player to be leaked is not the way to do that.

Now his teammates will not even speak to him in the locker room, and there have

Liberty Champion | April 5, 2016 | B3 even been rumors of a possible trade for Russell because of the discontent among team members. It will also be very difficult for any teammate to trust Russell again after this.

Secondly, a published video is not the way to break this kind of news. Cheating is wrong, there can be no question there, but when you take a video of a guy saying something like that, if he is your friend, delete it right away. Confront the guy on it, but do not hold onto it. This is “Bro Code” 101 here people. Plus no boyfriend or girlfriend should ever have to find out their significant other is a scumbag that way. Russell has said that he did not think the video would ever go public, but how else would a video get from his phone to a gossip website?

Russell has since apologized for the situation, a gesture Young claims he has not accepted yet. Eventually, as it has in the past, this will blow over and things will return to normal. It is also doubtful the Lakers would risk trading a player with such a high ceiling as Russell; just do not expect to see him and “Swaggy” hanging out anytime soon.

VANDENBOSCH is the sports editor.

By now, you have undoubtedly heard the story about Lakers teammates D’Angelo Russell and Nick “Swaggy P” Young. If you happen to live under a rock, I will give you a quick synopsis.

Young is/was engaged to female rapper Iggy Azalea and all was well for the happy couple. At least, as well as it can be for a celebrity couple of that magnitude.

Enter 20-year-old rookie guard Russell, who secretly recorded Young talking about his infidelity. Somehow that video got leaked to the world, and now Russell is in the doghouse while Young is a victim of a bro-code felony, according to the masses.

Are you ready for my hot take?

The bro code is great, but it only applies to bros. Young cheated on his woman, therefore he is no longer a bro. It is all in the bylaws of the bro code. Section 6 Article 9 says, “he who cheats on his woman loses all legal coverage from the bro code.”

While Russell could have gone about everything differently, Young lost that privilege when he cheated.

Meanwhile, the whole Lakers locker room is shunning Russell for having the guts to expose Young for being a complete scumbag. What does the bro code say about all of that? Section 4 Article 3 says, “ye shall not shun a bro for exposing a cheating bro.” It is all right there in the bro code. It is almost like nobody has ever even read the thing.

The best part of all this is Young playing the victim. Young is the one who cheated, yet he is getting sympathy from idiots everywhere. YOU CHEATED

ON YOUR GIRL. Stop sulking in the shadows of social media and subtweeting Russell and talk to both him and Iggy like a man.

Anyone who plays Young out to be the victim is saying that cheating is OK. In that case, I want to talk to your OEL kindergarten teacher, be- SCHMIEG cause that is a lesson you should have learned a long time ago.

Finally, I will talk directly to you now Iggy. You were engaged to a man who voluntarily called himself “swaggy.”

There is really no way you should be surprised by what happened. Swaggy is pretty much code for “I will cheat on you with a teenage girl.” That is straight from the bro code translation guide.

Iggy, I will leave you with the chorus of your song Fancy, remixed with words from Young himself.

I’m a cheater You already know I’m so unfaithful From Iggy to Amber Rose I’m a cheater Can’t be controlled Remember my name “Swaggy P”

SCHMIEG is the asst. sports editor.

Spring Softball

Leah Seavers | Liberty Champion

FIELDING — Mickey Loveridge warms up before a matchup with the Lady Pirates.

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Leah Seavers | Liberty Champion

CONTACT — The Lady Flames bats were poppin’ as they put up 18 runs in two games.

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sports

B4 | April 5, 2016 | Liberty Champion

An unexpected turn Track was never part of Riley Brandon’s plan, until a prayer changed everything Cierra Carter cmcarter18@liberty.edu

The Tolsma Indoor Track is a sight to see here at Liberty University. On any given day, one might watch distance runners loop around the track seemingly on repeat, while pole vaulters clear new heights and jumpers work on their form. But upon looking closer there are some who do it all, both on and off the track.

Riley Brandon walked onto the Liberty Track and Field team in 2011 as a heptathlete and has been on the rise ever since, winning multiple Big South Titles including a 2014 Indoor and Outdoor sweep. Now a captain and prized member of a consistently dynamic team, Brandon has come a long way from her initial starting line.

Born in California, raised in Idaho and

currently living in Texas, she is a “multi” (as is commonly the nickname for her event) in every aspect of life. The middle child of four, she looked up to her older sister, who was also an athlete and in-house trainer.

She pushed her constantly in the weight room, inspiring her to get better and showing her what it meant to be truly dedicated.

“Surprisingly, I wasn’t a big sports person,” Brandon said. “I loved ballet and dance, all things girly.”

Originally wanting to be a cheerleader, her dad led her to the volleyball sign up table instead, insisting that the cheerleading sign ups were full. They were not, but little did her father know her life course was being rerouted.

Though the 2015-2016 season is her 11th year in track and field, she did not have a specific event until later in her career.

The heptathlon, Brandon’s event, is sev-

Kevin Manguiob | Liberty University News Service

ALL SMILES — Riley Brandon looks to pursue track beyond her time at Liberty.

en grueling events that require a whole lot of stamina. She dabbled in a few different events in high school, but volleyball was her main focus and it even got her college offers at other universities. Track was merely used as a means of conditioning.

“I really had a disdain for track, so when I was a freshman in high school, I remember thinking ‘Four years, and then I’m done’ and every year was like a tally list of one more year done,” Brandon said. “So when I started having the thought go through my mind of pursuing it in college, I knew that was not of me.”

So she prayed. Scared of what God’s response would be, Brandon prayed for clarity. In the book of Judges, the illustration of the sheepskin cloak remaining dry while the grass was wet with dew is what Brandon imagined. And that is how she prayed for God to speak.

She admits that the thought of being a college track athlete was something she was embarrassed to even share with her high school classmates. Four years later, however, track is something she plans on pursuing even after her time at Liberty is finished.

“When I came to Liberty track, I thought God was trying to humble me … and he’s taught me a lot,” Brandon said. “But the thing that I thought I would hate for four years has become such a passionate love of mine that I want to do after college … it’s taught me obedience is so important to the Lord’s plan because he had my greatest desires on his heart and mind when I was trying to say, ‘Lord you don’t know what I want.’”

Since making the commitment, Brandon has won three championships, but her junior year ECAC meet at Princeton stands out as a highlight in her mind. Nothing was really panning out the way she planned on the first day of competition, but then something clicked. That meet continues to stand as the best of her career Brandon will tell you that the long jump is not her strongest event, but she always steps up, hopeful that each jump will be her

breakthrough. In her last jump of her junior season, she hit 17-7, which she noted is not an accomplishment for many, but was a highlight in her mind.

“Her progress has been phenomenal athletically, but it’s been directly related to her progress just with the balance of sports,” Assistant Head Coach Lance Bingham said.

At High Point, Brandon used a bad performance as an opportunity to share Christ with the opposition. After performing poorly in her high jump event, she could have jeopardized the team’s championship hopes, but she was competing for more than herself. That conversation with a competitor established a great friendship to this day.

As for life after college, Brandon wants to have her own counseling practice geared toward life-coaching young girls.

As a leader on the track and field team, she gets the opportunity to put that passion to practice every day. She gets to come alongside teammates and friends and be there for them. But life after Liberty now includes some new, lofty goals.

“Someone asked me once, ‘Are you training for the Olympics?’ and I said, ‘No, because I’m not good enough to go to the Olympics right now,’ but I’ve realized that’s the epitome of an athlete, so that should be on my bucket list too.”

An Interdisciplinary studies major in undergrad, Brandon combined business, art and psychology to fit her passions.

Really, Brandon’s life is one big heptathlon. She is not from one state, she is from three. She did not have one focus for her major, she had three. And when one event never really stuck, she decided to take on seven. That leap of faith and obedience to Christ has made all the difference.

CARTER is a sports reporter.

Keep on keeping on

Madison Kotchey battles health issues off the field while leading on the field Bobby Keating rfkeating@liberty.edu

Determination. Will to win. Refusing to back down from adversity. These are phrases that make up the composition of Madison Kotchey.

Kotchey, a sophomore, plays first base for the Liberty softball team. She recently earned the title of Big South Player of the Week and has been hailed as one of the team’s central leaders by Coach Dot Richardson.

The real story behind Kotchey lies much deeper than receiving accolades. At the end of her freshman season, she caught strep throat five times, something that preceded unstoppable coughing fits. At the time, she played it off and looked forward to summer vacation.

“During the summer it just got progressively worse, and I was just like, ‘okay, what do I do?” Kotchey said. “My mom thought it was allergies so I went and got an inhaler from my doctor.”

When her health seemed to be improving, she arrived back at Liberty only to see her coughing fits resume. When Kotchey’s ribs cracked as a result of so much coughing, Richardson sent her to a pulmonologist, a doctor specializing in the respiratory tract.

Following numerous CAT scans, doctors still did not know what is wrong with Kotchey.

“I just recently had a CAT scan, and we’re still up in the air with what’s wrong with me,” Kotchey said.

With the ongoing saga of her mysterious medical issues, Richardson allowed Kotchey to rest until she felt ready to play softball once again.

“I know that she has felt some depression about ‘I have these health issues, what’s going on?’” Richardson said. “With that being said, she’s still put in extra time fielding and extra time hitting. It’s a tribute to her as an athlete and an individual to trust the Lord and to do what she needs to when she’s called on.”

With the timing of her return to the field in her own hands, Kotchey hit a rough

stretch in which she doubted she would even return.

“I was like, ‘Okay, it’s beating me and I don’t have to do it anymore,’” Kotchey said.

Following a time of depression for a seemingly unattainable cure to her puzzling health issues, Kotchey decided it was time to move on with a positive approach.

“I think about the little girls that come here and watch us play,” Kotchey said.

“When I was younger that’s all I did with my dad, I would go to the field because I always wanted to be a Division I softball player. With the mindset of what those little girls see us as … I just want to work harder so they can come out and … see all the hard work that we do.”

Kotchey fell in love with softball at the age of four while traveling to watch her dad play in different adult softball tournaments.

“It’s so great to have her on the field (again), but I knew that it had to be on her timing,” Richardson said. “Now I think that you’re going to find a changed individual who’s not taking anything for granted, and you can see on the field that she’s really loving it.”

Trusting in the midst of uncertainty has been a reality that Kotchey has come to terms with. Although there is still no prognosis of her health issues, she is determined to continue on the path that leads to greatness.

Playing in just eight out of Liberty’s 32 games this season, Kotchey is tied for second-most home runs on the team with two.

She is currently batting .368 with 7 RBIs. Her recent success is a testimony to her will to overcome adversity, something she hopes to encourage others to do.

“Never let something beat you for something that you’ve been doing for so long,” Kotchey said. “Never give up on what you want your dream to be.”

KEATING is a sports reporter.

Joel Coleman | Liberty University News Service

DETERMINATION — Madison Kotchey does not let her health keep her down.

feature

Liberty Champion | April 5, 2016 | B5

Born to perform Student Haley Greene set to release her first EP album William Rice wsrice@liberty.edu

The Lynchburg community has heard her voice at coffee shops and local shows, but come April 16 Liberty student Haley Greene will release her first EP called “Revisiting Doors.”

As a professional musician, Greene considers herself an indie singer/songwriter, and credits her past for shaping her into the artist she is today.

Greene’s parents divorced when she was 10 years old, which led to a unique upbringing with her father.

“I grew up moving around to all different countries,” Greene said. “My dad works for the U.S. embassy, so he gets repositioned (every) two years. I was born in Hong Kong, but lived in Saudi Arabia, Mozambique, Gaum, and Ecuador.”

Having lived in many countries, Greene continues to implement a lifestyle of travel.

“I like to expand my experiences,” Greene said. “I don’t like staying in the same place. I’ve been Mexico, Australia, Germany, Switzerland, England, and the list goes on.”

Throughout her travels, Greene was drawn to music, and she wanted to be a musician in a punk rock band called the Losers. Although her sound did not fit the tempo of the punk rock band, Greene continued

Photo Provided

SONGWRITER — Haley Greene’s EP will release April 16. with music on her own. was supposed to be released “In Ecuador I was a big last year, until the suicide of fish in a small pond,” Greene her younger sister, Kristin, in said. “But then I came to October of 2014.

Liberty. I noticed that there “It was the biggest speed are some amazing artists bump of them all,” Greene here. I was never like, ‘I’m said. “I thought (I’d) been going to be a musician.’ It was through a lot before, but just meeting new people and that was like nothing I’d figuring out that people here experienced.” will support you in this kind After the tragic event, of endeavor. People really Greene took time off from believed in you here, and that school and spent four was what motivated me into months soul searching in the taking the next step toward Philippines. actually (doing) it seriously.”

“That’s when I realized Once she arrived at Lib- I was ready to take the next erty, Greene eased into the step,” Greene said. music world playing shows When she returned to Libaround Lynchburg and be- erty, Greene dove straight coming a recognizable artist into her music. She finished in the community. She began her EP and is currently workto work on her EP shortly af- ing on her next release, most ter coming to Liberty, which of which she wrote when she

was in the Philippines.

Greene also became the lead vocalist for a band called Vertica, which she does as a hobby.

“I don’t have (to) do as much creative input,” Greene said. “They have the songs written, I just have to sing, which is good because I keep all my lyrics with my solo work. I know deep down I’m a solo musician.”

Greene keeps a busy schedule with her studies as a strategic communications major and work at the Ploughcroft Tea Room. She will be recording with Vertica in Nashville in two weeks, performing her solo work at Lynchstock on April 23, and will be going on tour July 7-18 to D.C., Baltimore, Boston, Nashville, Knoxville, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia. More recently, Greene has been produced by Josh Etheridge, and released a single on Spotify and iTunes called “Unrequited.”

The majority of Greene’s audience consists of the community of Lynchburg, however, she plans to begin playing at Liberty to share her music with the students she has not reached yet.

The short film, “Ohfer,” debuted March 24 in the Hancock Welcome Center. Written and directed by digital media professor Carey Martin, “Oh-fer” follows the story of Craig, a young boy struggling in little league baseball.

His older sister Dawn learns that Craig has struck out every game of the season, and at the end of the film, the audience learns that Craig needs glasses to hit the baseball.

Filmed in Lynchburg and the surrounding communities in summer 2015, Liberty alumni had the opportunity to partner with Martin for this project.

“Oh-fer” was filmed in just three days, with an average of seven pages of script being filmed per day, according to Martin.

“Oh-fer” originally began as a short story Martin wrote while in graduate school.

“My instructor loved it and said that I should do something with it,” Martin said. “At the time that I wrote it, I really didn’t have anything to do with it. But, of course, I held on to it … If I had ever tossed the story, (the film) wouldn’t have happened.”

One summer at Liberty, Martin rewrote his short story into a

MOYER is a feature reporter.

CLARK is a feature reporter.

Photo Provided

PREMIERE — “Oh-fer” started as a short story written by Carey Martin in graduate-school, then developed and was filmed during the summer of 2015. passed between the original writing of “Oh-fer” and its film debut at Liberty. However, Martin has advice for writers who may have a story they

want to hold onto and craft further.

“I would say the number one piece of advice I can give is never give up,” Martin said. “If you never

Kelly Clark jclark92@liberty.edu

give up, you might be surprised at what you can achieve.”

RICE is a feature reporter.

SCCA professor Dr. Carey Martin releases new film script. Martin then entered it into the Broadcast Education Association Festival, where it won first place in the faculty division. Afterwards, Martin pitched the script to Mirari Pictures, a production company headed by a Liberty alumni, who helped bring the script to the silver screen.

The debut of “Ohfer” at Liberty was attended by more than 150 students, faculty and community members who offered praise after the screening.

Martin attended Northwestern University for his bachelor’s degree in Radio, Film and Television. After working for five years, he attended Florida State University and earned his Master of Fine Arts and Ph. D in Communication.

Martin currently teaches at Liberty at both the undergraduate and graduate levels, with a focus in digital media and transmedia. He offered advice for students looking into pursuing both short story writing and scriptwriting.

“The old adage of ‘write what you know’ is a great place to start,” Martin said.

Martin drew on his own experiences in little league to create “Oh-fer,” both in its original short story form and later as it evolved into a script and film. Years

Make it or bake it The aroma of cookies begins to fill the room as she opens the oven to check on the most recent batch of oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. There is an expression of excitement that covers her face and it is evident how much she loves baking.

Caroline Debnam, a sophomore sports management major, bakes her favorite cookies with a plan in mind.

For Debnam this is not a typical Friday afternoon baking session with friends, this is her business, Hill City Cookie Company.

The best part? She is using her baking talents to raise money for a missions trip, and donates her profits to other organizations.

Hill City Cookie Company first started out as a way to make some extra money.

“People always loved when I made (cookies), so I thought why not sell them,” Debnam said. “Then I realized it would be a great way to raise money to fund different missions organizations.”

Debnam is raising money for her trip to Malaysia with Adventure in Missions, where she will be taking part in the World Race for a month. Although she has always aspired to go on the World Race, it has a minimum age requirement of 21 years old.

“I thought this was a good opportunity for me to go for a month to see if the World Race is what I wanted to do,” Debnam said.

The World Race is a trip where a team goes to 11 countries in 11 months to serve “the least of these,” according to The World Race website. The specific trip Debnam is going on is called the World Race Exposure trip. These trips can range from one month to three months.

According to Debnam, she is also using half of her profit from her business to donate to the TEN Campaign, whose goal is to provide access to clean water to the nation of Liberia while also sharing the gospel to those being served. She believes that by doing this she will be able to reach more people.

“I really liked how established and successful they have been on campus and I liked what their efforts were doing,” Debnam said.

She came up with a cookie delivery business because there is nothing at Liberty like it, and the one hour delivery promise helps ensure to her customers that the cookies will be delivered fresh.

“The most rewarding part is delivering the cookies and seeing people’s reactions when they get warm cookies at their dorm door,” Debnam said.

Customers have loved Debnam’s service so far as she has several great reviews on her Facebook page.

“I purchased her cookie squares and oatmeal cookies and they were amazing,” marketing and human resources major Courteney Martin said. “I’m definitely ordering again soon.”

Hill City Cookie Company also offers gluten free options. Ordering cookies from the company is simple. A customer can go on the Hill City Cookie Company’s Facebook page and send a message to Debnam.

The message should include the person’s name, order and dorm location. Within an hour’s time a warm, homemade cookie order is delivered fresh to any dorm.

For more information about Hill City Cookie Company or to place an order, visit facebook.com/hillcitycookieco/.

‘Oh-fer’ debut Shannon Moyer srmoyer@liberty.edu

Michela Diddle | Liberty Champion

BAKE — Sophomore Caroline Debnam began her own on-campus baking company, Hill City Cookie Company, as a way to raise money for missions.

feature

B6 | April 5, 2016 | Liberty Champion

Kaitlyn Becker Johnson | Liberty University News Service

COSMOS — The 10th annual fashion show Saturday, April 2 drew inspiration from elements of outer space, and featured futuristic fashion with an emphasis on metallics.

FACS hosts 10th fashion show ‘Countdown To Chic: Cosmos Fashion’ launched student spring collections Katelyn Rutt kerutt@liberty.edu

Crowds lined up outside the LaHaye Multipurpose Center to attend Liberty’s Department of Family and Consumer Sciences (FACS) 10th annual fashion show Saturday, April 2. Themed after its title, “Count Down To Chic: Cosmos Fashion,” the show gave students an opportunity to

test their skills and showcase their clothing designs.

“Not only is this a milestone year, but it is also our biggest show yet,” Director Rebecca Floros said. “We’ve done a lot of partnering and worked on having a stronger social media presence, so that has definitely made the difference this year.”

Nine vendors were set up around the LaHaye Multipurpose Center, including local favorites like The White Hart Café

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and Mama Crockett’s Cider Donuts. A portion of the sales from the vendors, along with half of the proceeds from the show, were donated to the Freedom 4/24, a local charity that works to bring justice to human trafficking victims around the world.

The show featured 26 designers and 41 models, the largest amount of participants in the history of the fashion show. Because of this, the FACS department recruited eight judges from across the country with varying experiences in the field of fashion.

“We have a diverse group of judges this year,” Faculty Advisor Matalie Howard said. “Some do modeling, film and costume design, run their own boutique and even one who has worked with Pitbull’s footwear line … this is such a great opportunity for students to get diverse feedback on their designs.”

Before getting approved to display their pieces in the fashion show, students were required to send in sample designs. From there, the FACS department chose a few of the best designers to create themed pieces for the 2016 fashion show.

“It’s interesting how the theme worked out, because last year we got a lot of feedback from students wanting to do something with outer space,” Floros said. “That wasn’t even on my mind when I was on the thesaurus looking up random words and came up with the idea of doing a theme related to the cosmos.”

Dimly lit with fog, twinkling lights and ambient music, LaHaye had the aura of outer space. The look was complete with a spaceship blast door that led to the runway and a red launch button that Floros pressed to begin the show.

“This year, our focus was on the production value and having our event draw people in,” Floros said. “Just like someone

would go to a concert for an experience, we wanted our audience to participate and go into outer space with us.”

Students were instructed to choose an inspiration from outer space and design their pieces around that concept. The show was filled with a variety of clothing influenced by well-known planets and constellations, as well as more complex ideas like the death of a star, spiral galaxies and the Aurora Borealis. Some students even modeled their pieces after films like Interstellar, Predator and Star Trek.

“We’re looking for one of a kind,” Howard said. “We don’t want the students to go after what someone else has declared will be a trend, but be as creative as they can be, pull it from deep inside and see what they can come up with.”

Each designer utilized a variety of textures, prints and colors that represented their concept of choice. On the runway, there were many hues of black and gold, complemented with bright, metallic fabrics and detailed face makeup. The audience favorites were the D-Trex dance crew introduction and the dress that lit on fire.

Not only were the designs judged by appearance, but the pieces were also analyzed by their construction. Overall, Sarah Blanke took home first place and Cayleigh Parker won “Best in Show.”

“The last couple of years I have submitted winning designs to the International Textile and Apparel Association, and students have won international awards,” Howard said. “The more our students are exposed, the more we are rising to the top, and this show gives them that perfect venue for showcasing their work.”

RUTT is a feature reporter.

feature

Liberty Champion | April 5, 2016 | B7

‘Steel Magnolias’ debuts Liberty’s Theater Department premiered female, comedy-drama March 25

Kaitlyn Becker Johnson | Liberty University News Service

LADIES OF THE ’80s — The story of “Steel Magnolias,” written by Robert Harling in 1987, centers around the lives of six women living in a small southern town.

Abby Sweeney asweeney8@liberty.edu

Not everyone spends an hour doing their makeup and putting on a wig, but sophomores Amanda Ward and Rebecca Hibma do.

The Liberty University Theater Department presented “Steel Magnolias,” a play written by Robert Harling in 1987 about six southern women.

“This is a story of six very, very, strong, beautiful southern women that love each other deeply are just trying to band together and cope with life’s circumstances together,” Ward said.

Scott Hayes, associate dean of the School of Communication & Creative Arts, serves as the director for “Steel Magnolias.”

Hayes said there were several reasons the faculty chose this play for the spring, one being that March is National Women’s History month.

“That was reinforced because we have such strong women, both actors and pro-

duction staff and we thought … let’s just do a show that really will champion that,” Hayes said.

Ward plays the role of Clairee Belcher, a cheerful widow of the former mayor.

“The author describes her as an eccentric lady who loves sugar,” Ward said. “She has a crazy sweet tooth. But to me she’s a lot more than that … She just champions people. She’s probably the sweetest old lady in the show.”

Ward had to prepare for this play unlike any other. Her roles in previous plays have been characters around the age of 17 and 18-years-old.

“It was quite a process,” Ward said. “I took older women in my life and just took certain mannerisms that they have — the way they respond to things, just conversations I’ve had about their perspective versus mine.”

Hibma’s character is the other elderly lady in the play, Ouiser Bondreaux.

“Most people … think that my character is this witch,” Hibma said. “She’s old and grumpy and she likes to yell and complain about everybody and snap at people. But

in the show, I think especially in Truvy’s Shop particularly, is where it comes out a little bit that beneath her crusty, outer shell, she’s this super sweet lady who really cares about the people that she loves.”

Ward and Himba took into consideration not just the mentality of an elderly woman, but also the physical characteristics.

“I get old-age make-up put on me, which is so fun,” Ward said. “It takes a little bit of time, but it’s awesome.”

Past the makeup though, the two actresses also have worked to communicate the posture of an elderly lady.

“There’s just a lot of different things that you have to take into account — like physicality,” Hibma said. “…You’re going to sit more gingerly, walk a little differently, and then there’s a bunch of different acting exercises that you can do.”

Ward said “Steel Magnolias” is her favorite play she has acted in to date because of the cast and the play itself.

“By far I like this cast, and how close we are,” Ward said. “… Just the show itself is the most meaningful.

It’s the most deep. It has the most meat.”

More than 20 people have contributed to this production, according to Hayes.

The department has been rehearsing for the past five weeks, except for one week off for spring break.

“The community in theater departments is really extra special because you have to be so vulnerable with each other and willing to go do crazy things in front of each other,” Hibma said. “ I love the community and the people who are involved in that creativity of collaborating with other super creative minds. It’s such an awesome thing when like you have people who are working so well together to create something beautiful.”

“Steel Magnolias” premiered March 25 and ran through April 3.

“It’s really a great celebration of what the title signifies,” Hayes said. “’Steel magnolias — great strength in great beauty.”

SWEENEY is a feature reporter.

Leah Seavers | Liberty Champion

MUSIC WITH A PURPOSE — Rend Collective performed Friday, April 1 at the Vines Center along with Urban Rescue for a crowd of students and College for a Weekend guests.

WORSHIP continued from B8 “It’s amazing that students here get the opportunity to gather together whether at (Convocation) or at concerts like this, and just worship and praise God collectively for all that He is and all that He does. It’s something you probably wouldn’t experience anywhere else but Liberty.”

Before its set, Rend Collective member Patrick Thompson spoke to the crowd about his experience with Compassion International, an organization that works to assist children in poverty through volunteer sponsorship.

He engaged the audience with stories based around 1 John 3, which teaches about love, worship and the spirit of giving.

According to the Compassion International website, the organization is partnered with 6,900 churches internationally that contribute to the 1.7 million children

currently sponsored. A booth was set up on top of the concourse for students and guests to gain more information about sponsoring children in poverty.

“His message really inspired me,” Liberty student Ashley Meyers said. “I’ve always felt called to help those in need, but I admit I never really acted on it. He put it in a great perspective ... showing that loving and giving to one another is the ultimate form of worship.”

After a brief intermission, the sound of sirens preceded verses depicting a tribute to Ireland.

Flashes of red and white beams of light began to flicker along the faces of an eager audience. The crowd rose to its feet, some rushing to join the cluster of people jumping in front of the stage as the band opened with “Burn Like a Star” from the album, The Art of Celebration.

An assortment of unique instruments surrounded the members on stage from cymbals, trash cans and an organ to a ukulele

and even an accordion. Members such as female vocalist Ali Gilkeson and bassist Steve Mitchell played several of these during a single song.

The folk-inspired troubadours had the audience engaged from start to finish, encouraging them to participate by clapping and dancing along to the Celtic rhythms. During soulful songs such as “My Lighthouse” and “Joy of the Lord,” phone flashlights lit the auditorium while the crowd took over the singing. Explosions of confetti and bubbles frequently fell atop of the audience in between the energized choruses and bridges of worship.

The band spoke between songs, sharing its desire to be joyful in all circumstances and celebrate the victories of Christ with the Church. Gareth Gilkeson took time to share his own story with the audience, reiterating Thompson’s message of love and giving with the inspiration behind the As Family We Go tour.

“Jesus gave us our purpose,”

Gareth Gilkeson said. “He said, ‘Go into all the world and make disciples.’ Therefore, the Great Commission is almost like Jesus challenging us to go on an adventure ... We are called to be family and bring the picture of the love of God to the rest of the world ... As family we are called to go and as adventurers we are called to unite.”

In an encore performance, Rend Collective performed several other songs from previous albums including the song, “You Will Never Run,” where they reappeared wearing panda hats and began to release giant orbs of flashing colors out into the crowd.

CFAW visitor Lillian Mosby said she enjoyed the bands random acts and Irish humor.

“You just never knew what they were going to do or say next,” Mosby said. “The joy and energy they have is overwhelming in the best of ways. I can’t imagine a band having more fun than they do performing, and seeing

that only makes the crowd want to have fun, too. You better believe I won’t be leaving here without their album.”

The night ended on a softer note with the melodic harmonies of the audience singing “Rejoice,” which lingered moments after the band had expressed its gratitude and stepped off the stage.

“We have had an amazing night with you,” lead vocalist Chris Llewellyn said, waving to the crowd. “The opportunity to sing with the church, to be a force for change and to advance the Gospel means so much to us, and we really appreciate you joining us in celebration tonight.”

Rend Collective and Urban Rescue will be continuing the As Family We Go tour until May 20. For more information, visit rendcollective.com.

ELLIOTT is a feature reporter.

B8

FEATURE

April 5, 2016

let your love be my kaleidoscope

Leah Seavers | Liberty Champion

‘AS FAMILY WE GO’ TOUR — Pictured above, the lead singer, Jordan Frye, of Urban Rescue performed at the concert Friday, April 1 before the headliner, Rend Collective.

Worship collectively Rend Collective and Urban Rescue performed April 1 in the Vines Center Hannah Elliott helliott9@liberty.edu

Thousands of students and guests embarked on a musical and spiritual journey in the Vines Center, Friday, April 1 during performances by Urban Rescue and Rend Collective on their “As Family We Go” tour, hosted by Student Activities.

The lights surrounding the stage abruptly struck to black as the once silent crowd began to clap in sync with the sound of

roaring drums erupting from the speakers.

An electro-pop melody began to play while a prism of lights suddenly flashed to show members of opening band Urban Rescue jumping center stage.

The band kicked off its performance with “Kaleidoscope,” invoking the audience to cheer and dance along to one of the many hypnotic chimes on their Wild Hearts EP. The band continued with several other up-tempo songs before slowing things down for the riled up crowd.

Toward the end of their set when

hands were raised high in a moment of worship and voices from the audience echoed throughout the auditorium singing “His Name Is,” the band’s frontman Jordan Frye encouraged the crowd to understand that God’s love is everlasting and unconditional.

“I’m here to tell you that there is nothing stronger than the name of Jesus,” Frye said. “The gospel says there is no height nor depth nor any other created thing that can separate you from the love of God. ...

His love is not like a math equation that you

can add or subtract from. His love is like the waves of the ocean breaking against the shore. They are never ending.”

Urban Rescue ended its performance with as much energy as it started, preparing fans for the main act to come. College for a Weekend (CFAW) visitor Ryan Napier said the concert was a favorite moment during his weekend experience.

“I am absolutely blown away by this school,” Napier said.

See WORSHIP, B7

Table tennis reaches nationals Students Messanh Ameduite and Josiah Boda represent Liberty in tournament Will Young weyoung@liberty.edu

The Liberty University Table Tennis Team concluded an unprecedented season of growth and heightened competition Sunday, March 27, after the team’s run in the National Collegiate Table Tennis Association’s (NCTTA) national tournament came to an end.

This past year was the first time the Liberty team competed in NCTTA scheduled tournaments.

After the team upset the University of Virginia and finished in second place in the Virginia Division Spring Tournament, the team was invited to compete in the Mid-Atlantic Regional Tournament, where Liberty faced tough competitors such as Duke and the University of North Carolina.

Messanh Ameduite, a medical student at Liberty’s College of Osteopathic Medicine, and Josiah Boda, a senior mathematics student, were then selected to represent Liberty in the NCTTA Men’s Singles National Tournament after their stand-out performances in the Mid-Atlantic Regional Tournament.

“The (Mid-Atlantic) tournament was a learning experience for the team, definitely, but Messanh and I played just well enough to be invited to go to nationals,” Boda said. “It was really exciting when we found out we were selected.”

Photo Provided

COMPETE — Teammates Josiah Boda and Messanh Ameduite posed after their NCTTA competition.

There, Ameduite and Boda competed against some the best collegiate table tennis players in the nation. Being new to the heightened competition, neither player was able to pick up a win in the tournament’s round-robin style competition, in which players were put in groups of four and scheduled to play against each competitor in their group.

After struggling in the roundrobin, Ameduite and Boda were placed in the consolation bracket of the tournament, where they faced other competitors who finished in the bottom half of their round-robin groups. In the first round of the bracket, both Ameduite and Boda were eliminated af-

ter losing in close matches.

Ameduite said both Boda and he were not deterred by their performance at the national tournament, though. He emphasized that it was the team’s first time playing competitively and that they were still getting used to competitive play.

“Playing in the national tournament was a great opportunity to represent Liberty University,” Ameduite said. “This was our first time we competed (at the national level). It was a great experience, and we’re going to apply what we learned. Next year, it will be a different situation.”

In the coming years, the team hopes to establish a regularly

scheduled practice time, add to their recruiting base, and appoint an official coach to the team.

Currently, the team is made up of five women and seven men.

Brandon Phelps, the team’s president, said he plans on continuing to try to find different ways to recruit interested and skilled players.

“One thing I do as president is go around campus a lot to set up tables and tell people that we exist,” Phelps said. “I also try put out the extra effort in going out to LaHaye and David’s Place to where there are table tennis tables, where I talk to people that are playing about the team.”

The team is sponsored by Liberty’s Student Government As-

sociation, and is therefore not considered an official club sport, making it much harder for the team to effectively recruit potential players since the team does not have a head coach and lacks the credibility and resources of a club sport.

The current members attempt to schedule a practice once a week, according to Phelps, but he noted it is difficult to plan around everyone’s schedules. In the future, the team hopes to increase the number of regular practices and scheduled meetings per week.

For Ameduite and Boda, preparing for the national competition meant practicing two or three times a week, often at six in the morning in order to work around each other’s busy schedules. Boda emphasized the immense skill and technique required when playing table tennis competitively.

“The mental aspect is really what’s hard,” Boda said. “You have to be rigorously focused the whole time or you’ll lose. Each point, you’ve got to know what you’re going to do.”

To find out more information about the Liberty Table Tennis Team, contact President Phelps at btphelps@liberty.edu, or look up the team on Facebook by searching Liberty University Table Tennis Team.

YOUNG is a feature reporter.