Spiritual Emphasis Week
Football opener photo collage
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LIBERTY CHAMPION Today: T.Storms 83/69 Tomorrow: T.Storms 81/68
Tuesday, September 4, 2012
Libertychampion.com
Volume 30 • Issue 2
Cinematic arts center celebrated Melanie Oelrich moelrich@liberty.edu
Tyler Eacho tpeacho@liberty.edu
Research contributed by Greg Leasure gleasure@liberty.edu
Ruth Bibby| Liberty Champion
WELCOME PARTY — Michelle Han waits in line with friends at the World Wide Welcome party in front of DeMoss, where new and returning international students had an opportunity to meet friends.
World Wide Welcome party Tabitha Cassidy tcassidy@liberty.edu
Research contributed by Kourtney Trivett kdtrivett@liberty.edu
I
nternational students at Liberty University had the chance to bump elbows and welcome each other back at the annual World Wide Welcoming event, Friday, Aug. 31. According to Liberty’s International Student Services, over 900 interna-
tional students from over 80 countries outside the United States are currently attending Liberty and had the opportunity to attend the welcome back event. Ruth Bibby, an American who attended the World Wide Welcoming event to experience the different cultures and snap some photos, said that international students were able to enjoy the barbeque food, face painting, hair wrapping and many other free booths from their fellow international students’ cultures.
Growing up in a missionary family and having lived overseas her entire life, Liberty student Hannah Munson said that having the opportunity to hear the stories of the international students on campus was amazing. “When I lived on campus, I was always involved with everything that went on with the international kids,” Munson said.
See INTERNATIONAL, A2
The dedication of the Zaki Gordon Cinematic Arts Center marked the first academic year of the film institute and brought filmmakers, Liberty University officials, students and community members together for a special three-day premiere weekend. The dedication service, held Saturday, Sept. 1, featured two panel discussions with the filmmakers as well as two breakout sessions in which each panelist focused on elements involved in the film industry. According to a promotional brochure, the new cinematic arts center was established to engage students in the digital and media delivery revolution that is transforming all areas of contemporary culture. The courses offer cross disciplinary boundaries, providing students with a conceptual and practical experience as they attend Liberty’s new world-class professional training facilities. Chancellor Jerry Falwell Jr. and Ben Gutierrez opened the center’s dedication with words of encouragement and scripture. “This center is about exalting the name of Jesus Christ. We will actually bring glory and acknowledgement to the creator of the world in the field of cinematic arts,” Gutierrez said. “Anyone can mimic our financial approach, but there is one thing they cannot do, and that is mimic the commitment and passion that we have to be passionate Christ followers and to exhibit unapologetically the testimony in the name of Jesus Christ in the field of cinematic arts.”
See CINEMA, A7
‘Obama’ documentary raises many questions Joy Huertas
jjhuertaslandero@liberty.edu
Viewers were able to “follow the roots” of Obama in the “2016, Obama’s America” film based on a bestselling book by well-known Liberty University speaker Dinesh D’Souza. D’Souza, a former staffer for President Ronald Reagan, is now president of King’s College in New York and author of several books, including “The Roots of Obama’s Rage,” the basis for “2016.” The book claims Obama’s beliefs are rooted in the anti-colonialism of his late father, a Kenyan academic who was largely absent from the president’s life. The film was featured at Lynchburg’s Regal River Ridge Stadium 14, which opened its doors to D’Souza’s anti-colonial, anti-white and anti-American Barack Obama. “I thought it was a really good
Photo Provided
2016 — Dinesh D’Souza digs deep into Obama’s early life. film—kind of nerve-wracking though,” strategic intelligence major Tanner Mulligan said. According to D’Souza, “Only
by the dreams of the father can we understand the dreams of the son.” Barack Obama Sr. was a left-
ist Kenyan scholar who had eight children with four different women. He left Obama Jr. when his son was two years old and only went to see him once. He died in a car accident while his son was in college. To dig into the influence of Obama’s father, D’ Souza seeks the opinion of Daniel Pipes, a New York University psychology professor who has studied the impact of absent fathers on children. “He has tension between the Americanism and his Africanism,” Pipes said. “He himself is an intersection of major political forces in his own psychology.” Convinced that “we are all shaped by our past,” D’Souza decides to follow “the roots of Obama,” traveling to Kenya, Indonesia and Hawaii to find answers about Obama’s political, spiritual and genealogical background. D’Souza reinforces
INSIDE THE CHAMPION News
Sports
Events
Inclement weather has caused a blood shortage and a food drought. A7
The football home opener against Norfolk State is Saturday at 7 p.m. B4
Lyncbburg’s Get!Downtown street festival gets B8 underway Friday.
News Opinion Sports Feature
how Obama’s father and several other communist and liberal mentors could have shaped the president’s worldview. “I don’t know if what he is saying is true, but I think it is very feasible because I do believe Obama is a socialist,” Mulligan said. D’ Souza argues that such influences have been reflected in decisions such as not taking a “meaningful step” against Iran’s nuclear ambitions and letting Argentina reclaim the Falkland Islands from the British. The slogan of the film, “love him, hate him, you don’t know him,” pretends to attract people from all political aisles. However, once the film begins, dark clouds and frightening music reveal D’Souza’s anti-Obama inclinations, leaving a bad feeling of what another four years of an Obama presidency could
See OBAMA, A3 A1 A4 B1 B5
NEWS
A2/Liberty Champion
September 4, 2012
jill springer
| Liberty Champion
MEET AND GREET — Aug. 29, students had the opportunity to meet and talk to professors from the School of Business to discuss the newly added programs.
School of Business advances programs One of the fastest growing schools, the School of Business currently enrolls 20,000 students Tracie Hearne thearne@liberty.edu
The School of Business has undergone many new changes this semester in an effort to enhance what it offers to students interested in the business world. According to Scott Hicks, Dean of the School of Business, they are approaching 20,000 registered students, per year, residentially and online. The business school comprises approximately 20 percent of the students enrolled Liberty University. “We’re one of the fastest growing schools on campus,” Hicks said. Wednesday, Aug. 29, the School of Business held a meet and greet at William’s Stadium. Several student groups, professors and interested parties attended the event to welcome back and introduce new students to the new and improved School of Business. One of the newest additions to the School of Business is the financial planning concentration. “This program has been in the making for two years and is now part of the degree completion plan,” Kurt Cornfield, a professor of business, said. “I’m very excited to see where it will go. It has the potential to grow exponentially.” The financial planning concentration helps students become Certified Financial Plan-
INTERNATIONAL continued from A1 “But now [that] I have moved off campus, it is harder for me to stay in touch and be involved like I used to.” The International Student Services have been supportive of non-American students attending Liberty, according to Singapore native Brendon Buntain. They have had many events to help bring the students together and provide them with pieces of their homeland. “I have enjoyed my Liberty experience from day
ners (CFP). Undergraduates will take a total of six combined business and accounting classes in order to become eligible to take the 10-hour, two-day CFP exam. The school recently received the Superior Merit Award from the Society for Human Resource Management. The award is widely considered one of the highest honors of its kind. According to the Liberty University website, last semester, businesswoman Pamela Green, a professional who has held executive positions in globallyrecognized organizations such as HeadStart Columbus and the American Red Cross of Greater Columbus, presided over the Backpack to Briefcase event. Her presentation helped students to better understand the gap between exiting college and entering the workforce. The School of Business has recently highlighted its “ambassador program,” which includes six separate student groups. Students who are a part of the program said that they have three main focuses they want to achieve. The first concentration, student outreach, involves business majors reaching out to nonmembers through outlets such as devotionals and fitness groups. This helps provide public interaction and directs attention to the School of Business. The second focus is on profes-
one,” Buntain said. “I have had people that have been here for me and that have helped me in every time of need.” Being immersed with the international students and getting involved is something that Buntain wants to continue to do. “I know a lot of people go off to college and get that uneasy feeling about going out and meeting people,” he said. “Getting involved can look scary and intimidating, but it has done nothing but help me and make me enjoy my college career so much more.”
Jill Springer | Liberty Champion
PROFESSION — Williams Stadium hosted the School of Business meet and greet on the Club Level. sional development, which helps students acquire jobs after graduating from college and allows them the unique opportunity to have professional mentors guide them in their future career paths. The final concentration of the ambassador program is community outreach. “Business majors try to use their skills to help better their local communities and to motivate the populace,” Hicks said. “The new Center for Entrepreneurship is on the leading
EDITOR IN CHIEF
administration
Deborah Huff FACULTY ADVISOR
Ben Lesley
ADVERTISING DIRECTOR
Ashley McAlpin GRADUATE ASSISTANT
Shelanne Jennings GRADUATE ASSISTANT
Tyler Eacho ASST. NEWS EDITOR
Melanie Oelrich ASST. NEWS EDITOR
Andrew Woolfolk OPINION EDITOR
Kyle Harvey SPORTS EDITOR
Derrick Battle ASST. SPORTS EDITOR
HEARNE is a news reporter.
CASSIDY is the editor-in-chief. TRIVETT is a feature reporter. Ruth Bibby | Liberty Champion
NATIONS — Faith Mavunga and Tinotenda Mutonono draw flags on the sidewalk.
1971 UNIVERSITY BLVD, LYNCHBURG, VIRGINIA 24502
content
mesters for undergraduates in business and other majors. These phases will be available to both residential and online students in fall 2013. The third phase, with a pilot starting in spring 2014, will expand services beyond residential programs to the online programs. For more information about the School of Business, visit liberty.edu/academics/business/.
The next international event will be a Busch Gardens trip, according to the International Student Center’s website. Those who are interested should visit the International Student Center in DeMoss 2247 for more information.
LIBERTY CHAMPION Tabitha Cassidy
edge of business education,” Hicks said. According to Liberty University’s website, the center is an “initiative focused on developing students to gain a mindset in leadership and innovation through entrepreneurial endeavors on behalf of for-profit and not-for-profit organizations.” The new Center comprises three phases. According to Hicks, the first experimental phase was a “pilot program” that began last semester. The next two phases will begin in the upcoming se-
Greg Leasure
designer
Tessanna Curtis
GRAPHIC DESIGN
FEATURE EDITOR COPY EDITOR
photography
Ruth Bibby
PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR
LETTER TO THE EDITOR POLICIES & INFO
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. 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.
Elliot Mosher Kevin McAlpin WEB DESIGNER
Send letters to: Liberty Champion Liberty University, Box 2000, Lynchburg, VA 24502 or drop off in DeMoss Hall 1035.
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NEWS
September 4, 2012
Liberty Champion/A3
News Briefs Tyler Eacho tpeacho@liberty.edu
Isaac Soaks Gulf Coast Hurricane Isaac made landfall as a Category 1 hurricane in Louisiana Tuesday, Aug. 28. Its slow, rainy march through the state is expected to have caused as much as $1.5 billion in insured losses, according to a CNN article. Isaac pales in comparison to Katrina, the 2005 hurricane that made landfall in Louisiana as a Category 3 hurricane and which was recorded as the sixth strongest Atlantic hurricane on record. Nevertheless, Isaac wreaked havoc on residents of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Arkansas. According to CNN, more than 644,000 people were left without power following the storm, while some 100 residents had to be rescued from flooded homes and rooftops in coastal Plaquemines Parish. CNN reported that the storm could have also caused more than $500 million in damages to off-shore energy production. Isaac continued to work its way up the Mississippi River, bringing heavy rain and the threat of flash floods, until it was downgraded to a tropical depression. At this point, the National Hurricane Center stopped issuing updates on the storm. Lynchburg residents should prepare to be soaked by remnants of Isaac on Monday through Wednesday as it continues to move up through the country.
Clint Eastwood Steals Thunder at RNC The Republican National Convention drew to a close Thursday, Aug. 20, when Mitt Romney accepted the long-anticipated nomination as his party’s candidate for president. In an unexpected turn of events, awardwinning actor, director, producer and composer Clint Eastwood delivered a surprise speech that captured the attention of the audience and stole some thunder. In the speech, Eastwood spoke to an imaginary Obama sitting in an empty chair next to the podium. He addressed many of the promises that were made by Obama during his campaign that have failed to come to fruition in his time as president. “So, Mr. President, how do you handle promises that you have made when you were running for election, and how do you handle them?” Eastwood said. “I’ve been to eight conventions. That is the best moment I’ve ever been to at a convention,” Time Magazine Humor Columnist Joel Stein said in a CNN article. The speech directed to the empty chair left Stein wondering how the Romney Campaign allowed it to happen. “They’re such a scripted group,” Stein said in the report. “I’d love to hear the pitch that he made where everyone said, ‘Yes, let’s do that.’”
OBAMA continued from A1 look like. “It is scary! We need to take him out of office,” Lynchburg citizen Gail Saddens said. According to an article from The Atlanta Journal, the film was not backed by any Hollywood movie studio. In fact, reviews were mostly negative. The documentary premiered in Houston, not Los Angeles or New York. Despite its unconventional release, the movie is now among the most successful political documentaries of all time—and it doesn’t show signs of cooling down ahead of the presidential election. Produced by Gerald R. Molen, the controversial
film was not distributed in the traditional manner. “2016, Obama’s America is disturbingly necessary,” CBS reported. Consequently, it is currently the top standing movie for advance ticket sales, according to online ticketing service Fandango, and it is already the No. 12 political documentary of all time, the Hollywood Reporter writes. Visit fandango.com for more information about showing times and tickets for 2016: Obama’s America. HUERTAS is a news reporter.
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Swing states Elliot Mosher | Liberty Champion
SWING STATES — This map shows the swing states for the presidential election in November.
Swing state scrapper Virginia is one of the keys to the upcoming presidential election Elizabeth Smith
Electoral Votes
ejsmith2@liberty.edu
With the presidential election quickly approaching, Politico.com states that Virginia has become one of the most prevalent locations for the candidates to visit in an attempt to garner enough votes to win the state’s 13 electorates. According to the Washington Post, Paul Ryan’s visit to Roanoke Aug. 22 was his sixth event in the state since being chosen as the Republican vice presidential nominee. He is planning to make another stop in Virginia later this week. President Obama has also been in Virginia several times this year, most recently speaking in Charlottesville. The Obama campaign will be in Newport News today. Before the presidential election of 2008, Virginia had spent roughly 40 years as a predominantly Republican state. According to Fox News, Virginia is now known as the “purple state.” The new revolution of “hope and change” that Barack Obama offered convinced a majority of the state’s voters that he would be the best choice for president. Nationally, Obama’s party received majority control of the House and Senate as well. However, according to a CNN article, 63 seats in the House of Representatives were taken over by Republicans in 2010, resulting in the “highest loss of a party in a House midterm since 1938.” At this point, polls are too close to call, and no one knows what Virginia’s turnout will be this year. Each candidate is doing his best to campaign across Virginia. According to Liberty University government professor Stephen Witham, the advantage to campaigning in Virginia is simply being able to grab the attention of many voters at one time. “You could cover the state in two days, and with a limited number of stops, you’ve basically covered the bulk of the population,” Witham said. “Even more important than just covering the bases is winning the
Colo.
Romney
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Fla.
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47.6%
46.3%
Iowa
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47.3%
44.8%
Mich.
16
45.0%
45.8%
Nev.
6
47.0%
45.7%
N.H.
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49.0%
44.8%
N.C.
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48.3%
46.5%
Ohio
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45.8%
45.2%
Va.
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46.6%
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Wis.
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48.3%
The “swing states” listed above account for 132 of the 538 electoral votes. In 2008, Obama won the election by winning the majority of these states. Election statistics are changing on a daily basis. election.” “Whoever wins the White House will have to have Virginia in their column,” former sixth congressional republican chairman Trixie Averill said. She claims that the number one reason why Virginia has become a swing state is because of the new demographic spread all across the southeast region: some are government employees, some are liberal northerners and some are just college students who have generally developed a more liberal mindset.
The 2008 election was the first presidential election that students here were allowed to vote from their college towns. With 13 electoral votes, Virginia ranks 12th among the 50 states in electoral votes. As long as it has the potential to move the election one way or another, Virginia will be a swing state. This year, it is crucial for both campaigns to spend a lot of time in Virginia.
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SMITH is a news reporter.
POLITICAL DEADLINES
Oct. 15 Last day of voter registration for Nov. General Election Sept. 21 Nov. General Election, Absentee voting starts
Obama
Oct. 30 Last day to apply for absentee ballots by mail or fax
Oct. 27 In-person absentee voting (9—5)
Nov. 6 Nov. General Election
Nov. 3 Last day to vote absentee in person
OPINION
SEPTEMBER 4, 2012
Donald Trump invited to speak
Real estate mogul and reality television star’s upcoming appearance in convocation has students talking Caroline Crumpler ccrumpler@liberty.edu
Ashley McAlpin akbollinger@liberty.edu
Donald Trump, real estate elite, author and television host, is speaking at Liberty University’s convocation Sept. 24. Although the news did not create much of a stir on-campus, it did have Liberty’s outside critics trying to create a false controversy. Trump was asked to speak in convocation—not to bring a deep theological lesson, but to provide words of wisdom. The goal of a university is to educate and enlighten students, and a Christian university should be no different in that regard. A proper university will seek to educate its students by bringing them leaders in various fields to teach in their area of expertise, which is something that Liberty University does in its weekly convocations. “Almost every convocation speaker is controversial to some group, but it’s not edifying to the body to emphasize the controversial nature of the speaker when there’s so much to add by their coming,” Liberty’s Vice President of Executive Projects and Spiritual Programs Johnnie Moore said. Moore explained that there have been many speakers whose presence during convocation have raised outside questions of controversy over the past 40 years. The controversies may be large, as was the case with Ted Kennedy’s appearance in 1983, or as minimal as a pastor whose theological beliefs are slightly different from that of the university or some of its students. The point is that while no one should expect to hear a sermon on theology from Trump, he does have an abundance of knowledge to offer students. Trump is a business and real estate titan, and students will greatly benefit from his knowledge. Trump also has a loud voice in politics
Gage Skidmore | Creative Commons
TRUMP IN CONVOCATION — While no one can deny his business accomplisments, some question Trump’s moral credentials. and economics and is an ardent defender of fiscal conservatism. Any opportunity to hear from Trump in a political year should be a cause for excitement for students. And for every action, there is assuredly a reaction. It is not just the fact that we should let Trump speak, but we should also realize that it is our responsibility to listen attentively to what he has to say. Realize that it is the duty of a Christian intellectual “to take every idea captive,” as 2 Corinthians 10:5 states. That means that it is our responsibility to analyze information and hold it up to the Christian worldview to assess its truth. Shutting oneself away from other viewpoints is detrimental to a Christian’s call to be “in the world but not of it.”
“One certainly does not have to be a paragon of perfection to be a great teacher or have something useful to say.” — CRUMPLER By doing so, your mind remains unequipped to analyze foreign philosophies. Liberty obviously saw many productive reasons for Trump to speak in convocation, but the most important reason was probably for his profound business expertise. Arguments against Trump speaking at Liberty disregard the purpose of a university and assume an unachievable standard of moral perfection in human beings. It does not take a perfect man to teach, just one who knows what he is talking about.
Admittedly, Trump has never had a boy scout image. He is known to occasionally let a few expletives fly on his hit show “The Apprentice.” Bitter public feuds with the likes of Rosie O’Donnell, Arianna Huffington, Rihanna and various others have also contributed to shaping Trump’s reputation in the eyes of some. However, the news outlets, which chose to cite “major controversy,” seem to be off-base. “Actually, I have not received a single complaint about Trump,”
Moore said. “I’ve also been monitoring social media since we announced his coming, and out of thousands of posts—literally—I have only seen a couple that had any question about Trump’s coming to Liberty.” One certainly does not have to be a paragon of perfection to be a great teacher or have something useful to say. Truth can be revealed through secular art, music, literature and even in the words of a New York businessman. CRUMPLER is an opinion writer. MCALPIN is the graduate assistant.
Past controversial speakers at Liberty University
Many big name speakers that have made their way to Liberty cause debate in the past Chuck Norris
Mark Driscoll
Glenn Beck
Mitt Romney
Ted Kennedy
Numerous students and alumni questioned his academic credentials and the seriousness of his appearance when television star, karate expert and Internet superhero Chuck Norris was chosen to speak at the 2008 graduation ceremonies. Norris is an outspoken creationist and frequently donates to conservative causes.
Driscoll, the fiery pastor of Mars Hill Church in Seattle, was viewed by some as too controversial to speak at Liberty University. One blogger inaccurately reported that Driscoll was unwelcome on Liberty University’s campus. A total of 372 people signed an online petition against his appearance, according to Christianpost.com.
Beck’s Mormon background and outspoken nature alienated some Liberty University students at the school when he was announced as the flagstaff speaker for Liberty’s 2010 Commencement exercises. Beck, who has hosted numerous shows on Fox News, received a warm welcome at the ceremonies.
Fo r m e r Massachusetts governor and the now-selected Republican candidate for this year’s presidential election also dealt with those unsettled by his Mormon beliefs. Reports on the controversy made news stations nationwide, but his speech at Liberty’s 2012 graduation exercises received numerous applause.
The Democratic Senator of Massachusetts was one of the first liberals to be invited to speak to students at Liberty when he made his visit in 1983. Kennedy, who spoke back when the school was still named Liberty Baptist College, was a close friend of founder Jerry Falwell Sr.
From the
Desk Politics always get people riled up. Friends are labelled either Republican or Democrat, families are split down the middle and co-workers begin to look
at each other contemptuously upon realizing that two people can hold opposing views. Every four years, it seems almost as if the United States splits in two. Slashing at each other’s throats with words of malice, it is utterly surprising that any of us can pick ourselves up on a daily basis and work as a nation next to that “liberal treehugger” or “conservative Bible-thumper.”
It seems as if people have just gotten caught up in an unjustified loyalty to a political party that hasn’t really ever g i v e n them anything in return. Ideally, CASSIDY we should cast away labels and begin to think for ourselves. Benjamin Lee Whorf,
a linguist and anthropologist, knew the meaning that labels and words had on a person’s perceptions of the world. According to his “Linguistic Relativity Hypothesis,” what we believe is limited by the language in which we think and speak. In other words, the labels that we give objects or behaviors become engraved in our minds so much so that we can only identify these things as being what we
originally labeled them. John F. Kennedy, the 35th President of the United States, understood this when he urged Americans to cast off the political candidate labels and seek the correct decision. “Let us not seek the Republican answer or the Democratic answer, but the right answer,” he once said. “Let us not seek to fix the blame for the past. Let us accept our own responsibility for the future.”
Whether that is taking an incumbent president and voting him back into office or taking an opposing candidate and giving him a shot at fixing this nation remains to be unseen. After all of the hoopla and excitement of the 2012 presidential election is behind us, we must realize that progress will probably not be made for quite a bit of time, regardless of the president.
OPINION
September 4, 2012
Liberty Champion/A5
NASA budget cuts hurt us all Daycare
fight club
Andrew Woolfolk alwoolfolk@liberty.edu
Over forty years ago, American astronaut Neil Armstrong etched a permanent mark in the history books when he stepped off Apollo 11’s lunar module and created an indelible footprint on the moon. An estimated 600 million people were watching live on television as Armstrong narrated to the world the journey of humanity’s most extraordinary leap. Many wide-eyed children sat with their parents, absorbing the events of that night on July 20, 1969. Undoubtedly, a large majority of them were inspired from that moment on to become a scientist, an astronaut or the next great explorer. In a 2004 National Geographic article on the matter, renowned astronomer Jeffrey Bennett talked about how the event changed the way we look at the moon. “There are many ways to show people the great possibilities of the future, but I’d argue that the visibility of the moon in the sky is more powerful than any other single source of inspiration,” Bennett said. And now, we have reached another milestone. NASA’s Curiosity rover landed on Mars Aug. 6 after a 563 million mile journey. Recently, the rover has started transmitting stunning images of the surface of our red neighbor. From Martian rocks to a sunset that is literally out of this world, the images have motivated millions. Sending a jeep-sized remote control car to another planet is tough to accomplish, but it is not the biggest problem facing NASA. Budget cuts from the current administration threaten to limit
Rule 1: You do not talk about daycare fight club Karin Thompson kthompson21@liberty.edu
FYI
NASA Images
SUNSET ON MARS — Images sent back from Mars inspire the dreams of our youth. the program’s future, and States Alliance to work along- and coins. America, whose the consequences could cost side their employees. These spot at the top of the scientific them—and us—a lot. contractors are critical for community among youths is According to President success at NASA, but they are falling, needs to invest in the Obama’s 2013 budget pro- being hit hard. future, not shy away from posal, NASA’s budget would In a July article for the As- challenging the next generadecrease from the $18.4 bil- sociated Press, journalist Mike tion to dream. lion it was allotted in 2011 to Schneider reported that many “I think it’s essential to $17.7 billion by 2017. of the 7,400 employees that do exciting things to get And though numbers of have been let go since last July the younger generations inthat size seem to make very in 2011 have struggled to find volved,” Davis said. little difference to the casual jobs to suit their special set of Our country needs children bystander, a cut of that mag- skills. The Kennedy Space to dream big and to carry the nitude has drastic effects. For Center currently employs torch forward into history. perspective, consider this: ac- 8,500 workers, the smallest NASA deserves the best opcording to the same budget amount since 1977. portunity to give children that proposal, the Air Force alone The economy of Florida is spark. is allotted nearly $170 billion. feeling it too. According to a Write your governors. “The budget cuts are hav- 2008 NASA study, the Ken- Email members of Congress. ing an unfortunate impact on nedy Space Center accounted Thank NASA for what they these contracting companies, for $4.1 billion of financial have done. and many contractors are los- activity in the state, but the Four decades ago, Arming their jobs. If the budget number is on a steady decline. strong served as the represencuts continue, a lot of brilliant “It’s a one-two punch,” tation of American progress people may lose their jobs,” Marcia Gaedcke, president of and ingenuity. NASA as a NASA employee Andrew Da- the area’s Chamber of Com- whole helped us take that “givis, who works with the launch merce, told USA Today in ant leap” for mankind. control systems at Kennedy reference to the loss of jobs at Forty years later, Obama Space Center in Florida, said NASA. “Everyone’s going to cannot let us take a step back. in an interview. feel it.” Davis pointed out that But the biggest hit the bud- WOOLFOLK is the NASA hires contractors such get cuts take on our country opinion editor. as Boeing and the United cannot be measured in dollars
Israel preps for war, should we? Jacob Tellers jtellers@liberty.edu
The ongoing conflict between Israel and Iran added another distressing chapter to the saga Aug. 20. An article from the USA Today speculated about the war preparations Israel is currently undergoing, saying that “after months of saber rattling, the Israeli government is opening gas mask distribution centers, and on Sunday it tested an early warning system that involved texting hundreds of thousands of Israelis. Both steps are in preparation for a potential retaliatory Iranian missile strike.” Tensions between the two countries have escalated in recent years due to Iran’s secretive nuclear program. “[Iran’s] frequent calls for the destruction of Israel raise particular concerns in this regard,” Joseph Payne
When a story hits the news of adults fighting, it is disturbing enough. But Aug. 20, reports broke of a daycare center that doubled as a fight club for children in Delaware. CBS Philly reported that three women working at the daycare were arrested for forcing two 3-year-olds to fist fight. One of the women shared a cell phone video, which eventually led to their arrest. As Christians, we “Toddlers know the high value that God puts on the and Tiaras” innocence of a child’s had over life. Their rights 1.6 call out naturally to million our hearts, and we should pursue justice views for in situations like this. its last To think that this episode, “fight club” was happening in America is according disturbing. to Nielsen. Stories like this raise concern about the level of child abuse happening in America. With the media constantly portraying the rights and wrongs of parenting, the line is sometimes fuzzy between what should be allowed for entertainment purposes, and where it needs to stop. Television programs nowadays depict not only physical violence, but emotional abuse as well. Shows like “Dance Moms” and “Toddlers and Tiaras” are television staples for raising questions about the security of the children being filmed. In most situations, a mother’s lost dreams cause her daughter to have to live up to her view of perfection in a bubble of competition. I remember distinctly the one time I watched “Dance Moms.” One mother, who was apparently the boss, seemed to physically unhinge her jaw while yelling at those in the room about an issue involving one girl’s behavior and abilities. The entire scene was in front of the mothers, dancers and the entire camera crew. The women at the daycare company were merely seeking a laugh. According to the information provided, there were no children physically harmed by the incidents. There is clearly a difference between the intentions of those on television and the woman involved, but both were seeking to provide entertainment. In each situation, there was emotional strain put on the children. From frequently watching their parents yell to having their parents forcing them to behave in absurd ways, the damage to the children is done. It is appalling that the parent’s dangerous obsession with entertainment is causing the lives of children to be devalued. Yet it is also true that parents are human and will make mistakes. They cannot be expected to be perfect. It is within our freedom as Christians to determine what we will or will not watch or support. We are not called to judge the hearts or intentions of those around us. We are simply called to care for those who are weak, and the victims of oppression. As Christians, we must always recognize the high value that Christ has given to children and our call to love them and take care of them. Psalm 127:3 says, “Children are a heritage from the LORD, offspring a reward from him.” Situations such as the one in Delaware are disconcerting and should persuade us to want to protect our precious youth, regardless of the situation. We should always be on our guard and ready to respond when injustice is taking place.
White House
HELP — Netanyahu is looking for U.S. support. and Keith Payne said in a joint article for the National Review. A fierce animosity exists between the two countries, but are the actions taken in preparation for a worst-case scenario, or a sign of an upcoming conflict? Any pre-emptive strike by Israel on Iran’s nuclear facilities would be pointless if Israel is not able to disrupt a significant amount of Iran’s nuclear capabili-
ties. According to the weekly political newspaper The Economist, a successful strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities would only “delay Iran” and would not stop it from eventually acquiring nuclear weapons. Iran’s Fordow nuclear plant was also described as a “supposedly impregnable facility that is buried deep in a mountain complex surrounded by anti-air-
craft batteries,” which Israel would not be able to destroy by itself. President Obama has made his position clear to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that he is against an attack on Iran. If Israel does not have direct support from the U.S. for a pre-emptive strike, it is doubtful that they will be able to carry out an attack that would have any lasting effect on Iran’s nuclear program. Any such attack would result in retaliation from Iran. In the Washington Post, Maj. Gen. Aviv Kochavi, Israel’s military intelligence director, said that over 200,000 missiles could end up striking Israel if they started a war with Iran. Many of these would target heavily-populated areas such as Tel Aviv. Given the constant tension in the Middle East, Israel’s war preparations are not sur-
prising. Israel has reason to be concerned about Iran, but it is unlikely that they will carry out any pre-emptive strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities. Because of their inability to destroy Iran’s nuclear capabilities and their own, any attack by Israel would prove unsuccessful. U.S. support would be necessary for an effective attack on Iran, but President Obama has been clear in his opposition to any preemptive strike. Israel is left in a situation where the minimal benefits of attacking Iran do not outweigh the costs and risks associated with that strategy. Barring a full-out war resulting in the demise of the Iranian regime, a nucleararmed Iran is an inevitable future that the U.S. will need to learn how to deal with. TELLERS is an opinion writer.
THOMPSON is an opinion writer.
Have your voice heard! Visit libertychampion.com to vote on the top five issues students are concerned with regarding the presidential election.
NEWS
A6/Liberty Champion
September 4, 2012
New CLST courses being offered Courses help students looking to excel in learning strategies and mentoring Brett Raszinski braszinski2@liberty.edu
Attending college can be an exciting experience for new and seasoned students alike, but at the same time, it can be overwhelming and even confusing if students are not prepared for their classes. To help students start their collegiate career, the Bruckner Learning Center is offering a set of classes on learning strategies as well as “mentoring” courses. According to the Liberty University course catalog, College Learning Strategies Classes (CLST classes) range from “Foundations for Academic Success” to “Advanced Reading/Vocabulary Reading” and are open to all students because they have no prerequisites. They can be registered online through ASSIST. “We have a wide range of students taking our courses,” Director of Bruckner Learning Center Heather Schoffstall said. “Some students take a particular course to improve in a specific area, others are required to take certain courses based on their academic standing.” Schoffstall also mentioned that they have a total of 310 mentoring students and 480 CLST students this semester. Chris Boontjer, a sophomore and club wrestler for Liberty University, is one of the students taking advantage of the CLST courses offered. He is currently enrolled in the “College Learning Strategies” class, which is also known as CLST 101. “CLST 101 is geared toward the freshman and sophomores who desire help in study strategies,” Schoffstall said in an email interview. “Topics include time management, listening and note-taking, test-taking and test anxiety, memory, learning styles, reading, goals and motivation, stress, academic policies and critical thinking.” Boontjer is positive that CLST 101 is helping him academically. “The class has been everything I
expected,” Boontjer said. “Already, it’s taught me things I didn’t know about organization and how to manage my schedule.” Boontjer claims that he was “one of those freshmen who came to Liberty with college under wraps,” and laughs about how far he has come. “My attitude last year killed me,” he said. ”I took AP classes in high school, so I thought I knew how to study and was expecting Liberty to be easy. It’s so different. In college you are treated like an adult.” The Bruckner Learning Center has also added a course There are this semester that specifically caters to new 310 students. mentoring “MENT 101 is students being offered for the first time this semesand 480 ter,” Schoffstall said. CLST “[It is] designed for students the incoming freshthis man who desires mentoring and accountsemester. ability through small group instruction to help with the transition from high school to college.” Schoffstall also added that all courses count for elective credit and that all courses, with the exception of MENT 100, are one-credit courses. MENT 100 is a three-credit course that was formally known as CLST 100. According to their official website, the Bruckner Learning Center is located on the third floor of DeMoss Hall right next to the elevators. Their business hours are from 8 a.m. – 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday.
FYI
RASZINSKI is a news reporter.
CLST course listings All information provided by Heather Schoffstall, Director and Assistant Professor of Education at the Bruckner Learning Center. • CLST 101 is geared toward the freshman and sophomores who desire help in study strategies. Topics include time management, listening and notetaking, test-taking and test anxiety, memory, learning styles, reading, goals and motivation, stress, academic policies and critical thinking. • CLST 102 is geared to help anyone who struggles with reading college textbooks. The focus is how to read and comprehend college textbooks and improve college level vocabulary. • CLST 103 is unique in the way that it is an individualized course. This course helps students in almost any area of weakness. If the student is weak in grammar/spelling material, help in that area is assigned. If the student has a lot of test anxiety or trouble taking tests, material to help build those skills are assigned. It is based on what the student wants to work on and/or needs to work on. Another component of this course is the material offered to help students study for professional testing such as PRAXIS, LSAT, GRE and ACSM. Many students take advantage of this opportunity. • CLST 105 is designed for any student wanting accountability. The focus is on managing the weekly stresses of turning in assignments on-time, looking ahead and studying early
• CLST 301 is really designed for the junior or senior who wants to go to graduate school. It focuses on upperlevel vocabulary and speed reading. The students in this course normally increase their reading speed by a couple hundred wpm. • MENT 100 (formerly CLST 100) is a three-credit course that meets Monday, Wednesday and Friday for the entire semester. Students in this course are a part of a learning community, where every student has at least four of the same courses together. • MENT 101 is being offered for the first time this semester. It is designed for the incoming freshman who desires mentoring and accountability through small group instruction to help with the transition from high school to college. This one-credit course works in small groups to cover time management, college adjustment, personal responsibility, proper communication with peers and faculty, social networking, personal finances, stress and healthy living, academic policies, choosing a major and support services. If freshmen did not take advantage of this course in the first semester, they may sign up for in their second semester freshman year, especially if they have trouble adjusting well.
Want to volunteer, or do you need Christian service hours that you can get simply by staying at home? Help us defend economic freedom in Lynchburg today! •Web: www.afphq.org/virginia • Twitter http://twitter.com/AFPVA • Facebook: www.facebook.com/AFPVA
NEWS
September 4, 2012
Liberty Champion/A7
Drastic weather patterns cause grief A Lynchburg summer storm has left blood supplies low while a Midwest drought causes food shortages
Amanda Fortner afortner@liberty.edu
Nicole Steenburgh nksteenburgh@liberty.edu
Tyler Eacho tpeacho@liberty.edu
Blood Shortage In the wake of a summer storm that left many residents Blood of southwestern Viris most ginia without power commonly for up to a week, the used in American Red Cross has declared a state surgeries. of emergency reA patient garding the current may need supply of blood. Liberty Univerup to 10 sity hosted a drive units of Aug. 29, with apblood in a proximately 60 to 65 students donating single opblood. Bill Johnson, eration. account representative for Lynchburg’s Red Cross, works with all the local colleges and universities. He expressed his pleasure with the results they received. “Working with Liberty is fabulous. We have more donors at Liberty than from anywhere else,” Johnson said. “Although an emergency appeal for donors in early summer temporarily stopped a decline in donations, results from July show that Red Cross blood donations for the month were the lowest they had been since 1996,” an American Red Cross news release stated. “We lose 15 to 20 percent of donors from local high schools and colleges in the summer, and with an overall low turnout this year, the blood has dropped to critical levels,” Johnson said. “If blood resources dip below 50 percent of the standard supply at Centra Health, hospital leaders may have to consider canceling elective surgeries,” director of transfusion services George Cook said in Lynchburg’s News and Advance. This year, the shortage is stretching into
FYI
CINEMA continued from A1
According to a promotional brochure for the center, students will be trained using industry-standard equipment from Red camera packages to Avid edit bays, to ProTools and THX-certified surround sound mixing equipment. “The folks in Hollywood are jealous of the equipment we have here,” Falwell said. The event featured free screenings on Aug. 30-31 of movies such as Passion of the Christ, Secretariat, Courageous and Seven Days in Utopia. Each screening was followed by a question-and-answer session with someone involved with the movie’s production. Ian Miller, a junior transfer student from Virginia Beach, took part in the premiere weekend. He is a student in the film program. “Lighting and camera staging are my passions. I like that whole process of the filmmaking,” Miller said. Miller attended Thursday night’s screening of Secretariat and was able to interact with Dan Gordon, professional screenwriter and co-founder of the Zaki Gordon Institute. “Being able to ask questions about how the production went, the problems they ran into and the success they had, inspires me to be a filmmaker,” Miller said. “One thing that struck me from what Dan Gordon said was that, as a screenwriter, you can’t falsify facts. You don’t want to lie to people.” The institute is named after Zaki Gordon, the late son of Dan Gordon. Before his death, Zaki had expressed his dream of a unique film school to his father. Gordon knew he was called to carry out his son’s
Jill Springer | Liberty Champion
BLOOD MOBILE — The local Red Cross aided in efforts to increase blood donors due to the shortage from the summer storm. the fall as well. “Shortages at this time of the year are uncommon. It’s a bit frightening, to be honest,” America’s Blood Center’s Melissa McMillan said in an ABC news article. Residents in the Lynchburg area have tried to do their part to bring the blood supply back to normal levels. Starting Sept. 4, there will be a four-day blood drive in DeMoss Hall from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. Johnson encourages students to give blood, suggesting that if one donation helps three people, every 10 people helped affects 100 people. Food Shortage Meanwhile, inclement weather of another type is affecting the nation’s food supply. An ongoing drought in the Midwest has affected many of the nation’s crops. “Currently, Sodexo Dining Services at Liberty University is not experiencing the effects of weather-related food shortages,” Julie Pfeifer, Marketing Manager/Cater-
vision. “The Lord graced me with the opportunity to meet Chancellor Falwell and share with him Zaki’s vision, and at the end of that several-hour presentation, Chancellor Falwell said, ‘I’m in,’” Gordon said. Gutierrez shared how much the process stretched and how much it has grown. “After deliberating with his cabinet, the chancellor approved a four and a half year forecast, and as of Monday, we have met all of our enrollment goals,” Gutierrez said. “We have two fully-enrolled immersion groups and enough core students that will populate two additional immersion groups. We have tripled the amount of online course offerings prior to [the] goal that we presented to the chancellor, and to that I say, praise the Lord.” Each speaker was given the chance to address questions pertaining to the film industry and making successful faith-based films. “We’re looking for true stories that are compelling and have some connection to a large audience, and that really frees a writer to dive into that story,” Peluso, vice president for AFFIRM Films, a division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, said. According to Stephen Shultze, the executive director for the Zaki Gordon Cinematic Arts Center, he has no doubt that this educational venture will open the doors for the next generation of filmmakers to fulfill the great commission of Jesus Christ. OELRICH is an assistant news editor. EACHO is an assistant news editor. Leasure is the feature editor.
ing Sales Manager of Dining Services, said. While on-campus prices have not been directly affected, the food bought from Liberty’s suppliers could eventually see a 3 to 5 percent increase in cost. Sodexo has to worry about price fluctuations on produce purchases. Fresh, local produce is used as much as possible for the dining on campus, but the quality and variety of food served will be affected by the dry climate. Sodexo and Liberty have a set contractual price for resident dining. Because of this, dining prices should not change within the academic year. “We work diligently to ensure our products are the best quality at the most affordable prices,” Pfeifer said. One of the main crops to suffer in the drought is corn. Corn is a staple in many of the things consumers need, including car fuel and feed for livestock and poultry in addition to food on consumers’ plates. The Washington Post reports that both meat and poultry farmers are culling
the herd in response to the drought. This desperate action is causing meat prices to drop in the short-run. The drought has been so severe for farmers that they have been forced to cut down acres of dried up corn and feed them to the livestock. Doug Nelson, a farmer in Nebraska, told the Washington Post that things have not been this bad since 1974. Iowa, the nation’s largest corn producer, was classified as being in extreme drought Aug. 21. With the United States responsible for 60 percent of global corn exports, and the demand for corn still rising, prices could eventually compare to the elevated prices seen in 2008. The rain from Isaac could help bring the drought to an end. FORTNER is a news reporter. STEENBURGH is a news reporter. EACHO is an assistant news editor.
The cinematic arts permiere included two esteemed guest panels
GORDON
Dan Gordon, Screenwriter/ Co-founder of the Zaki Gordon Institute A few of Gordon’s film credits include Tank, Passenger 57 and Expecting Mary. “I don’t think there’s a difference in a dramatic story between a Christian or mainstream audience.” “Your mission, in whatever you do, is to glorify the Lord and spread the Word.”
DOWNES
Randall Wallace, Director/ Screenwriter A few of Wallace’s film credits include Braveheart, We Were Soldiers and Pearl Harbor.
WALLACE
LAUER
PELUSO
*Due to an unfortunate medical emergency, Wallace was unable to attend Saturday’s event.
Paul Lauer, Founder/CEO of Motive Marketing Motive has designed and executed some of the most successful grassroots marketing campaigns in history, including Passion of the Christ, The Polar Express, The Chronicles of Narnia, Rocky Balboa and Expelled. “There are two kinds of films: a passion film and a parable film. A passion film is explicitly faith-based and gospel-centered; a parable film digs deeper into the subtext to see what the message is.” “Differentiate yourself; make yourself known for something.” Rich Peluso, VP AFFIRM Films/Sony Pictures at Sony Pictures Entertainment Peluso has worked on films including Courageous, Soul Surfer, To Save a Life and Fireproof. “Christians are generally fearful of Hollywood, but they fail to see the beauty in the art.”
MORROW
COOK
KENDRICK
Bobby Downes, Co-Founder/ President of EchoLight Studios/ChristianCinema.com Through Downes Brothers Entertainment, Bobby has worked on projects based on best-selling author Karen Kingsbury’s novel, Like Dandelion Dust, which won more than 30 international film festival awards.
Chris Morrow, Co-Founder & Chief Global Strategist of EchoLight Studios Partnering with Downes Brothers Entertainment since 2007, Chris leads development, production and all legal matters for their independently-produced projects. In 2011, he formed EchoLight studios, the first vertically-integrated Christian studio to offer production financing, marketing and distribution across all releasing platforms worldwide. David Cook, Writer/ Producer As one of the country’s top speakers and coaches on Peak Performance, David has served as “Mental Training Coach” for the San Antonio Spurs from 1996-2004, during which they were awarded two world championships. His first performance novel, “Golf ’s Sacred Journey: Seven Days at the Links of Utopia,” was made into a movie, starring Robert Duvall, in the summer of 2010.
Stephen Kendrick, Screenwriter/Producer/Actor Along with his brother Alex, Stephen is the co-director, co-producer and co-writer of the blockbuster movies Courageous, Fireproof, Facing the Giants and Flywheel. They have also authored the bestselling book, The Love Dare.
NEWS
A8/Liberty Champion
September 4, 2012
LU to host 16th annual Civil War Seminar
Kendra Alleyne
kalleyne@liberty.edu
Liberty University will host its 16th annual Civil War Seminar, “1862—The Rise of Lee and Grant,” from Friday, Sept. 28 to Sunday, Sept. 30 at Liberty’s School of Law, a Liberty University History Department news release stated. Located in Green Hall, the event will feature lectures on various aspects of the Civil War from nationally-renowned authors, including Michael Ballard and Alan Farley. In addition to these lectures, scholars from across the nation will be presenting papers. According to the news release, an online “Battle of Antietam” will also be simulated by high school and college students. According to Secretary for the History Department Kristina Burdeaux, the Civil War Seminar was started by Liberty professors Kenny Rowlette and Cline Hall and was recently added to the history department. “Rowlette and Hall started the seminar because they have a passion for the Civil War history,” Burdeaux said. “They feel it is important to everyone to know the history of our country, and this is a popular war, but many people do not know all the relevant details about the war. This seminar has just recently become part of the history department.” Burdeaux said that she expects a good turnout for the event. The three-day-long seminar will begin with a period-style banquet Friday, Sept. 21, at 6:30 p.m., continue on Saturday with numerous lectures and a day-long program and conclude on Sunday with a special prayer service at Liberty’s Chapel
Lauren Adriance | Liberty Champion
SEMINAR — Liberty will host the 16th annual Civil War Seminar on Sept. 28-30 in the School of Law at Green Hall. led by Rev. Alan Farley of “Re-enactor’s Mission for Christ.” “This year, there are two speakers on Friday night. A silent auction will also take place after the speakers,” Burdeaux said. “On Saturday, there will be speakers starting at 8 a.m. and speaking through 6:45 p.m. This year, there are two paper panel sessions as well—one in the morning, and one in the afternoon. On Sunday, a period church service led by Alan Farley
will be held in the Prayer Chapel on campus.” Guests will have access to numerous exhibits, artifacts and memorabilia from the Civil War, and vendors will also have Civil War items for sale. Each afternoon, guests will have an opportunity to tour Liberty’s “National Civil War Chaplain’s Museum.” Burdeaux stressed that the history department is doing more to get students
interested and involved in upcoming Civil War seminars. “The seminar offers free admission to students for the Saturday lectures,” Burdeaux said. “We have two paper panels that are new for this year. This is to help bring in more interest with scholars and students who have written papers on the Civil War topic.” ALLEYNE is a news reporter.
Textbooks: Buy or rent? Jeremy Angione
jangione@liberty.edu
Photo Provided
PSYCHOLOGY — A team of three Liberty students, accompanied by psychology professor Brianne Friberg, attended the National American Psychological Association Convention in Orlando, Fla. Aug. 2-5.
APA team travels to Florida Brett Raszinski braszinski2@liberty.edu
The Psychology department attended its second consecutive National American Psychological Association (APA) Convention held in Orlando, Fla. Aug. 2-5. The convention is a three-to-five day annual meeting in which several universities and psychologists come together to present new research that they have been preparing throughout the year. “The APA convention is an amazing opportunity for both faculty and students to network and learn from the leading researchers in our field,” Liberty University psychology professor Brianne Friberg said. “We were able to present our own research and receive feedback from experts within our content area. In addition, we were able to meet and hear presentations from individuals who students have read about in textbooks or journals and have heard about in their psychology classes.” Liberty had the unique opportunity of being able to send seven undergraduate students to the convention this year. “This convention allows us to present research alongside major research universities,” Friberg said. “It is exciting to see research including undergraduate students from a teaching university presented next to research by a doctoral student from a research-focused institution. It is a competitive conference, push-
ing students to really know their ‘stuff ’ during the presentation,” Friberg said. “This convention also allows students to see ‘the next level’ in the world of psychology. They are able to network and meet with leaders in the field, as well as explore research within areas of psychology they believe God is calling them to study and serve.” One team from Liberty presented research on Early Head Start, a program designed for low-income families concerning mothers with babies from prenatal to 3-yearsold. The program promotes child competence and development as well as parenting skills. The team researched different ways the Early Head Start program could be improved and designed to properly fit into more low-income families. According to Friberg, this was “more rigorous research.” The team presented its own research and met some of the top psychologists in the field today. Among these researchers were Russell Barkley and Ann Masten. Barkley has been researching a new possible diagnosis to the DSM-5, which diagnoses certain disorders. Masten is known for her resilience and risk research. Liz Colesey, one of the team members from Liberty, described her experience as “motivating,” and said that it was a privilege to attend the National APA Convention as an undergraduate. Colesey said that after the convention, she realized just how much there is to learn
about psychology and loved the experience of seeing top researchers taking interest in the same types of research. “The opportunity to attend and present in a national psychology conference as renowned as the yearly APA convention is one that is not offered to many undergraduate students,” Audrey Anderson, another member of one of the Liberty teams, said. “I greatly enjoyed hearing from the students, professors and keynote speakers on what is happening in psychology research, whether it was in presentations, seminars or casual conversations. This convention really makes the difference in the field of psychology and prepares our department for the next step.” “The heart of Liberty University and the psychology department is to train champions for Christ, and for me, this convention is a moment where that goal is realized,” Friberg said. “It allows them to see the fruit of their research and gives them practical application in a field full of theories. It is also rewarding to see them light up when they realize they are hearing a theorist they repeatedly cited speak on the current state of the field. Seeing them grow through these experiences and shine for Christ in that moment is worth the price of admission every time!” A total of three teams attended the National APA Conference this year. RASZINSKI is a news reporter.
With every new semester, students scramble to find the cheapest way to prepare for their classes, and the make-or-break expense is always books. The Liberty University bookstore allows students the convenience of holding their books immediately. However, many students wonder which is actually cheaper: buying new, buying used or renting. According to Liberty University bookstore manager Ellen Mayes, students have to consider a number of financial factors when purchasing books. Initial cost, possible reuse and buyback value are some factors that can increase or decrease the appeal of a price tag. At face value, renting is the financially sound option, but the aforementioned factors can change that. “Renting is a viable option for any student wanting to save money up-front. Renting helps ease the initial outlay of money at the beginning of the semester—a time when students are particularly strapped for funds,” Mayes said. According to Mayes, students can save more than 50 percent off a new book price by renting, but they have to return them at the end of the semester rather than sell them. Buying used books is the next best option. Although they tend to be in less than mint condition, a used textbook often provides the best value for students. “Our research shows that it is cheaper to purchase the cheapest used copy and then sell it back for the highest buyback value then it is to rent those same books 95 percent of the time,” Jeff Sherwood, CEO of bigwords.com, said. In this way, Sherwood
encourages a purely economic approach to purchasing books by minimizing loss and maximizing gain. This sounds simple, but it is a sound strategy if a book is no longer needed. Students can use online textbook resources like bigwords.com as a comprehensive, price comparison search engine. This might leave some people wondering why anyone would want to buy a new textbook. “Many customers prefer new because of the value they place on that textbook and their desire to maintain an academic library or resource,” Mayes said. “Additionally, many custom titles and books with consumable components are a better value when purchased new.” Both Sherwood and Mayes encourage a longterm approach to purchasing textbooks. While initial prices may seem attractive in the case of rentals, students are encouraged to consider future factors. According to Mayes, buying used books will save at least 25 percent, but could actually save up to 75 percent, according to Sherwood. The overall factors prove buying used books to be the most financially viable option. As long as students do not mind paying a higher initial cost compared to renting or having a more work-worn book, used books are worth it. Using an online resource like bigwords.com can help ensure an even lower cost when buying used books. However, the bookstore can provide convenient pricing and availability as well as acceptance of Flames Cash to help ease the financial strain. ANGIONE is a news reporter.
SPORTS
SEPTEMBER 4, 2012
Men’s Soccer
Women’s Soccer
Men’s XC 6K
Women’s XC
Liberty 3 Longwood 0
Liberty 1 Old Dominion 0
Templeton 19:39.75 Kipchirchir 19:40.02 Barker 19:40.30
Gass 15:29.72 Kanagy 15:30.01 Buda 15:30.27
3393 meters
Field Hockey
Football
Liberty 4 Georgetown 1
Liberty 17 Wake Forest 20
‘The Voice of the Flames’
G u n n i n ’ f o r Wa k e F o r e s t
Olivia Witherite ogwitherite@liberty.edu
Ruth Bibby| Liberty Champion
HIGH CALIBER — Senior Justin Gunn, No.42, leaves a trail of defenders in his wake en route to a 47-yard gain.
Flames fall in final minutes Kyle Harvey kharvey@liberty.edu
The scene in WinstonSalem was all too familiar for Flames fans—their team came up just short in a winnable game against an Atlantic Coast Conference opponent. Needing three points to tie, or a touchdown to win, the Flames had what should have been the last possession of the game when they took over at their own 19-yard line with just over three minutes left in the game. Quarterback Brian Hudson methodically guided the team down the field to Liberty’s 44-yard line with just over a minute-and-a-half remaining. However, consecutive incompletions on third and fourth down, intended for Elliott Dutra and Justin Gunn, ended the drive, and Liberty turned the ball over to Wake Forest with just over a minute left in the game. “We came in here expecting to win,” senior wide receiver Dutra said. “We did not have any intention of losing this game, and we fell short. We got some things that we have to fix—on defense, on offense, on special teams.” The game opened promisingly. As expected, the Flames veteran defense gave the Demon Deacons offense all it could handle, allowing just seven points and forcing six Wake Forest punts in the first half. The front seven limited the running game and the secondary held opposing quarterback Tanner Price to under 100 yards in the first half. In addition, Liberty broke
Ruth Bibby | Liberty Champion
DASHING — Kevin Fogg returns a kick at BB&T stadium.
“Our guys came out and played hard all four quarters. Nobody gave up. Nobody lost faith. We believed we could do it.” — HUDSON Price’s streak of 181 pass attempts without an interception when linebacker Marques Jenkins picked off a pass just beyond the line of scrimmage at the start of the second quarter. “I’m proud of the way they came out. The defense played a heck of a ball game,” head coach Turner Gill said. “The thing I was hoping we would be able to do was be able to
tackle well. I think that was the key, and for the most part, we tackled pretty well and didn’t give them any big plays.” On the offensive side, Liberty scored on its second possession on a 37-yard strike from Hudson. Dutra found a crease straight up the middle of the field and Hudson hit him perfectly in stride for an easy touchdown.
“As we were planning, the safeties weren’t supposed to leave the middle of the field open, but I looked up and saw the safeties both go out of the way. I double-checked because I didn’t think that was supposed to happen,” Dutra said. “I just put a move on them and went straight to the middle and God blessed me with the catch. In a scripted but nevertheless unusual move, Gill then turned the keys to the offense over to Josh Woodrum, who took over at quarterback for the next two series. Woodrum, who was forced to start each of his drives from inside his own 20, completed one of three pass attempts and rushed for eight yards on two carries without a first down. After Woodrum’s two series, Hudson returned for the remainder of the game, presumably having won the position. “One good thing: I think we found our quarterback,” Gill said. “Brian Hudson came in and did a very good job.” At the end of the first half, Liberty had what appeared to be an excellent shot at a go-ahead touchdown, but poor clock management left the Flames with only enough time for a 49-yard field goal attempt. Playing in his first collegiate football game, freshman John Lunsford had enough leg on the ball to make the kick from 60 yards, but hooked it right. Liberty took the field in the second half and marched straight down the field,
See
WAKE,
B3
“It gets to my core, what I do, and how much I enjoy play-by-play broadcasting,” Alan York, the Flames broadcaster at Liberty University, said. Entering his third year as the playby-play radio broadcaster for Liberty Athletics, York has become known to many as “The Voice of the Flames.” He broadcasts football and basketball games and serves as a director of the Flames Sports Network, the Liberty Flames official television and radio network. York kicked off the regular football season Saturday, Sept. 1, when the Flames headed to his home state of North Carolina to face Wake Forest. YORK York has helped grow both the Flames Sports Network and support for Liberty Flames Athletics, as the athletics program thrived under the direction of Jeff Barber, Liberty’s athletic director. “I have great appreciation for Alan,” Barber said. “He has a very strong work ethic, but he has a tremendous passion for Liberty University, a passion for Liberty Athletics, for Flames Sports Network, the radio program.” “He is a proactive thinker. He’s always thinking of ways to be better,” Barber said. York’s thinking and innovative ways can be seen through different the techniques implemented at football games. This addition gives the Flames Sports Network radio broadcasts a more authentic feel and game experience, one where you can hear the quarterback make calls and “the pads crunch,” York said. “One of the goals I had coming up here is to bring as much of the game in between the lines to our fans listening,” York said. “One thing we’ve kind of utilized is more microphones.” From wireless microphones used to pick up captains’ calls during the coin toss, or microphones placed on the goal posts to hear players charging into the end zone, York and the broadcast team have worked to enhance fans experience. “I’m just one person,” York said. “We have a great athletics department. Jeff Barber is phenomenal. Our radio crew is top-notch, our television production people. I’m just a small part of it. I might be the face of what goes on the radio, but I’ll be the first to deflect any type of accolades to [the Flames Sports Network broadcast] team. They make us go.” Before moving to Liberty, York gained experience as a radio play-by-play broadcaster in the Big South at High Point University in North Carolina. “Coming up [to Liberty], I always thought, ‘Wow, this would be a neat place to go to school.’ Not only because of the quality of athletics, but number one from a Christian standpoint,” York said. “Being Christian, it’s great being around other Christians.” York is the fifth play-by-play broadcaster for Flames basketball and the fourth for football. He credits Jerry Edwards, who retired from full-time play-by-play work before York began working at Liberty, for a great foundation, saying that he has the “utmost respect” for Edwards. York’s voice can be heard on the Liberty Flames flagship station, Victory FM, which can be found in the Lynchburg, Va., area on 88.3. However, York’s play-by-play can be heard on 32 other stations across Virginia and North Carolina and on the Internet nationwide. Previously, York spent time at ISP (now IMG) in Winston-Salem, N.C. He also served as the director of broadcasting and media relations for the Single-A Winston-Salem Warthogs baseball team, which is an affiliate of the Chicago White Sox. He is a graduate of Guilford College in Greensboro, N.C., where he was a four-time letter winner in football and baseball. Witherite is a sports reporter.
SPORTS
B2/Liberty Champion
September 4, 2012
Flames fired up for home opener
Trojans rushing and passing game to under 100 yards. Linebackers Jamal Giddens and Deon King recorded two sacks. Giddens also led the team with seven tackles.
Derrick Battle
dbattle2@liberty.edu
The first week of college football is in the books. Losing in their season opener to Wake Forest, the Liberty Flames look to win their first home game against the Norfolk State Spartans. Losing to a Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) opponent by only three points, the Flames have plenty to take away from their game against Wake Forest. Quarterback fiasco Head coach Turner Gill waited until both quarterbacks had two series in the Wake Forest game to name his starting quarterback. Redshirt junior Brian Hudson moved the ball methodically down the field throughout the onset of the game, leading the Flames to three scoring drives. Hudson finished the game by throwing 2037 for 263 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. With his performance, Hudson seems to have won the starting position against Norfolk State. Redshirt freshman Josh Woodrum was also in the mix to win the starting quarterback position. Toward the end of the first quarter with poor field position, Woodrum was unable to move the ball down the field and only completed one pass during his three drives at the helm.
Balanced attack The Flames had 363 yards of total offense against Wake Forest. Senior running back Sirchauncy Holloway led the Flames in rushing with 59 yards. The Flames finished the game with over 100 yards of rushing. Wide receivers Pat Kelly and Elliot Dutra and tight end Justin Gunn look to be Hudson’s main threats. The trio combined for 13 catches, 183 yards and a touchdown. Office of promotional publication
Spartans march into town Coming off the first shutout victory in over a decade defeating the Virginia State Trojans 24-0, the defending MEAC champions will travel to Lynchburg bringing a pound and ground attack. The Spartans attack gashed the Trojans for 229 yards. Brendon Riddick led the way, only carrying the ball nine times, and gained 87 yards with a touchdown. The Spartans also brought an experienced receiving core led by Xavier Boyce. Last season, Boyce broke the Spartans single season record with 68 receptions.
Elliot Mosher | Liberty Champion
Derrick Demps is another playmaker who averaged almost 22 yards per catch last season. Bring on the defense Holding a FBS opponent to only 20 points is a difficult feat for teams in the FCS. The Flames made Wake Forest starting quarterback Tanner Price’s life miserable, as he passed for under 200 yards and threw an interception. The Spartans were able to get pressure on the Trojan quarterback, racking up seven sacks. The Spartans also held the
Something to prove While it seems clear that the Flames permanent starting quarterback will be Hudson, the Spartans field general seemed shaky in his first career start. Quarterback Nico Flores started for the Spartans, but had a rough game throughout. Flores finished 13-24 with 93 yards and two interceptions. Transfer Jake Basmagian may get the call if Flores has another poor performance. The Flames will face the Spartans 7 p.m., Sept. 8, at Williams Stadium. BATTLE is the asst. sports editor.
Handy has high expectations for Flames hockey Courtney Sharp csharp2@liberty.edu
The Liberty men’s D1 hockey team met for a Media Day to discuss the potential for the upcoming season, Aug. 30. Coach Kirk Handy had nothing but good things to say. Comparing the rosters from this year and the previous The Flames one, it is apparent face that there are a lot of new faces on the curdefending rent team. The team champions has added eight new Delaware freshmen for this season, and they should four times not be counted out. this season. According to Handy, all of the men have “strong character, work hard and [have] a great attitude.” The primary objective for the team in preparing for the upcoming season is to be “consistent because of the single elimination playoffs,” Handy said. Workouts are early and often for the team as players “try and start with a 2-mile run 5:50 a.m.,” Handy said. The main points they are emphasizing this year are “discipline and accountability,” Handy said. The season starts with 16 home games. When asked if this was an advantage, Handy replied, “Yeah, sort of an advantage to find out who we are as a team.” The disadvantage to this scheduling predicament is that the men miss out on the usual road-bonding opportunities, but they have developed other ways to bond, said Handy. Flames Hockey fans should come to the games prepared to see intense action and should attend every series. “[There are] not gonna be many nights that are a blow out,” Handy said. The Flames might not have one specific rival team per se, but they are preparing
FYI
Ruth Bibby | Liberty Champion
CHARACTER BUILDING — Hard work and dedication is what Coach Handy expects of his players after the Flames were ousted in the opening round of the playoffs last season. for good competition against Delaware, Ohio, Oakland and, for the first time, West Virginia. Flames fans should expect to see many more specialty nights at LaHaye Ice Rink, similar to last year’s “bear toss.” The Flames D1 men’s hockey team also gives back to the community by partici-
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pating in the “Freedom 4/24 race again this year. The team ran the past couple years to support charities,” Handy said. Some seniors are NHL prospects, and if they want to pursue that dream, it would be “a lot of hard work, and Liberty would push them towards achieving that goal,” Handy said.
The Flames home opener is 7 p.m. this Saturday, Sept. 7 in the LaHaye Ice Center against the Hampton Jr. Whalers. Season tickets are available at the LaHaye Ice Center. SHARP is a sports reporter.
SPORTS
September 4, 2012
Liberty Champion/B3
Viva volleyball
the team with a career-high three aces. Liberty’s final game of the weekend series was Aug. 12 against the host of the UCF Classic. The Lady Flames gave it their all, clinching the UCF title in five tough-fought games (15-25, 25-23, 25-23, 22-25, 1614). The fifth game of the night kept everyone on the edge of their seats. The Flames started out with a 6-2 lead, but UCF held on, coming within one swing of a victory. But UCF failed on their match point and gave the Flames a chance to steal the victory. UCF finished the night leading the Lady Flames 68-53 in kills, but it was not enough for them to clinch the tournament title. Douglas had 16 kills against UCF, Thomas added 10 kills and Gebben added nine. Shipe led the Lady Flames with 17 digs. Craycraft was a huge asset with 41 assists and six blocks. Thomas was named tournament MVP and Douglas and Gebben joined Thomas on the all-tournament team. “To come on the road and win the tournament down here at Central Florida, and the way that we did it, really gives us a lot to build on throughout the year and some stuff to look back and draw from,” coach Shane Pinder said. “Just a great team effort, a great win for our program, and I’m really happy for our athletes.” The Lady Flames will continue their season as they head to Kent, Ohio Sept. 7 to compete at the Kent State Mizuno Classic.
Courtney Tyree cntyree@liberty.edu
Jake Mitchell | Liberty Champion
HISTORY — The Lady Flames won its first ever home opener against Georgetown.
Lady Flames defeat Hoyas Jay Sir ysir@liberty.edu
Liberty University women’s field hockey earned a 4-1 win over Georgetown University Sept. 1., with freshman Sarah Gipe leading the way with two goals. Helen Doolittle and Abbey Basom also scored for Liberty in their first home game of the season. The Lady Flames pressured the Hoyas from start to finish, winning 14 penalty corners while the Hoyas only had four. “Our press today was what worked really well,” Lady Flames head coach Jodi Murphy said. “We really stepped up and took away some of their options and tried to make them uncomfortable. We tried to show them something that they haven’t seen so far this season, and it worked well.” The game started with Liberty scoring an early goal three minutes in. Liberty’s Ashlee Kurlock intercepted a pass back to the goal, and a series of shots and
rebounds allowed Gipe to score the first goal of the game. The second goal came 18 minutes into the game. Liberty’s Absom catch a long pass and shot past the goalie to make the score 2-0. The Hoyas seemed to push back after the halftime break when Georgetown’s Keating scored a goal off Annie Wilson’s pass in the 43rd minute. The Lady Flames put the pressure on again as the last 23 minutes of the game saw 10 penalty corners in front of the Hoya goal. Two of the penalty corners resulted in goals for Liberty, with Gipes scoring her second goal 53 minutes into the game and Doolittle scoring her first in the 54th minute. The Lady Flames had more than just the win to celebrate, as Friday’s match was the debut of the Lady Flame’s first international player, Natalie Barr. “I’m really excited about Natalie [Barr] and her first Division I game here in the States,” Murphy said. “She played well for us, and she played steady.”
WAKE continued from B1 scoring on a 75-yard drive to claim a 14-7 third quarter lead. SirChauncey Holloway capped the drive with a 14-yard touchdown catch out of the backfield. The play was set up by a 47-yard reception by senior Justin Gunn, on which he broke several tackles to put Liberty in the red zone. Holloway finished with 91 all-purpose yards, and Gunn hauled in three catches for 66 yards. With the ball and the lead on the Flames 30-yard line, the Liberty faithful participating in the Shake N Bake to Wake caravan had great cause for hope. That is, until Wake Forest’s AJ Marshall stepped in front of a Hudson pass and ran it 39 yards the other way for six points. The point after tied the game at 14 with four minutes to go in the third quarter. “I just threw it late. He was open, the window closed, I threw it late. I’ll take responsibility for that and learn from it,” Hudson said.
Barr is a native of Lurgan, Northern Ireland, and has represented Ulster and Ireland in the U21, U18 and U16 levels. She joined the women’s field hockey team after transferring to Liberty from Lurgan College. Barr is part of the 12 freshmen players that were recruited this season and will join nine sophomore players in the team’s second season in the NCAA Division I. “We’re still young, but we have a lot of energy, and we have expectations to do well,” Murphy said. “We want to do well in the NorPac Tournament at the end of the season, but we’re really trying to take one game at a time. The girls have a lot of discipline and a lot of energy, and that’s really good for success.” The Lady Flames will play the University of Pennsylvania Sept. 8, 11 a.m. at the hockey fields located on East Campus.
SIR is a sports reporter.
At the start of the fourth quarter, Wake Forest capped a nine play, 60 yard scoring drive with a two yard scoring run. The point after attempt failed, leaving the score at 20-14. The Flames responded, moving the ball downfield on their next possession and connecting on a 49-yard field goal, cutting the Wake Forest lead to three. But that seemed to be all the Flames offense could muster. “Our guys came out and played hard all four quarters. Nobody gave up. Nobody lost faith. We believed we could do it,” Hudson said. “We almost pulled it out. We left a couple plays out there, and if we wouldn’t have left those out there, I think we definitely could have come away with the victory.”
The Lady Flames volleyball team headed to Orlando, Fla. Friday, Aug. 11, to take on three teams in the Holiday Inn Select/ University of Central Florida Classic and returned with a title. Liberty played its first match against Jacksonville Friday. The Lady Flames trailed 2-0 after the first two sets, but quickly jumped into comeback mode. The Flames went on to win the last three sets (25-17, 25-21, 158), winning over Jacksonville. Three Lady Flames had double digit kills. Sophomore Ansley Gebben had career-high 17 kills. Not far behind her was senior Loren Thomas with 14 kills and redshirt freshman Caroline Douglas with 11. Redshirt junior Kendle Rollins and junior Lillie Happel each added eight kills. Junior setter Jade Craycraft was on her game with 49 assists and 13 digs. Defensive specialist Gabrielle Shipe collected 18 digs. The Flames posted nine aces on the night. The Lady Flames were on their heels, itching for a victory as they heading into the match against Columbia Friday evening. The Flames fell short in the first set against Columbia (2517), but were able to bounce back and win the next three sets (25-16, 25-17, 26-24). Craycraft was on her game once again, posting a seasonhigh 52 assists. Gebben and Happel both collected 13 kills for the night, followed by Thomas with 12 kills and five blocks. Douglass and Rollins were right behind with nine kills apiece. Shipe recorded 14 digs. Freshman Allie Reynolds helped lead
TYREE is a sports reporter.
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SPORTS
B4/Liberty Champion
September 4, 2012
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1. Team Captain Kevin Fogg evades an oncoming Wake Forest tackler.
2. Head Coach Turner Gill communicates over his headset during the 4th quarter. 3. Freshman running back D.J. Abnar attempts his first collegiate carry as a Flame. It went for six yards. 4. Cheerleaders join in with Flames fans during the first football game of the season. 5. Dorm 76 cheers for the Liberty Flames despite rain during the first quarter. 6. Freshman quarterback Javan Shashaty watches the big screen for an instant replay. Photos by Ruth Bibby
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September 4, 2012
FEATURE
Liberty Champion/B5
Photos Provided
THE GREAT OUTDOORS — Volunteers Chris and Kelsey Mabes dedicate their time to make a difference in the lives of inner-city kids.
Local organization mentors children Daniel Bartlett dbartlett@liberty.edu
James Bourdon is one man who wants to make a difference in his community, and he is using his passion and calling to do it. Bourdon, the founder and operator of Urban Mountain Adventures (UMA), has created the opportunity to help mentor inner-city kids through the experience of the great outdoors. Although volunteer-based, the dedicated staff at UMA all share the same goal: to care for the youth of the community in a way that is fun and exciting for kids and to take part in the great commission of spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ. “It’s about Him [God], not us,”
Bourdon said. Bourdon also emphasized the community’s need for youth-focused mentors and what it means to these kids to have someone to look up to. “We use the gifts we have and the passions we have to reach out to the kids,” Bourdon said. “The outdoors give very easy opportunities to share Christ.” Founded in 2008 and based in Downtown Lynchburg, UMA has made great strides in community outreach and is one of the many ways that Liberty students can get involved in the local community. Doing anything from rafting and kayaking to hiking and repelling, these kids have a blast exploring the physical and spiritual benefits of being outside. Alongside Bourdon is Chris Mabes, a
Liberty University student and dedicated volunteer for UMA, who has spent the last 10 months working with the youth. Bourdon and Mabes both enjoy sharing what goes into this ministry and how it has shaped not only these kids’ lives, but their’s as well. “Patience and grace are probably the two greatest lessons I’ve learned,” Bourdon said. Bourdon especially emphasized that this ministry is focused on building longterm relationships with the youth instead of only being involved for a short time. Those willing to volunteer should dedicate more than just one night a week because UMA attempts to take an active part in these kid’s lives. “It’s a really humbling thing, and I’ve
learned to deal with certain things in a lot better manner along with being more patient,” Mabes said. Although the organization does strive to share the gospel with the kids they mentor, Mabes and Bourdon have realized that they don’t have to do all the work themselves. “You don’t need to throw the gospel at them to reach them,” Mabes said. “We’re obedient and available and we do our part,” Bourdon said. “God is doing his part.” For more information, visit urbanmountainadventures.org, call (804) 6902064 or visit their Facebook page. BARTLETT is a feature reporter.
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FEATURE
B6/Liberty Champion
September 4, 2012
Joel Ready | Liberty Champion
Furniture studio finds success
GOOD AS NEW — Studio Eleven owners Elisa Allen and Bri Precious-Keyes put their style and their faith on display while repurposing vintage furniture at affordable prices.
Samantha Gum
sgum@liberty.edu
Nestled in a small Jefferson Street suite in Downtown Lynchburg, Studio Eleven is a furniture store filled to the brim with unique furniture pieces and accessories, proving that one man’s trash can become another man’s treasure. “Studio Eleven is the middle ground between a thrift store and a high-end furniture store,” co-owner Elisa Allen said. In fact, most of the furniture found at Studio Eleven was at one time headed to the curb. Some pieces are in need of much attention, while others just simply need to be cleaned off. Regardless of the time needed to make a piece presentable, the results are all the same: vintage remade furniture at an affordable price. The name “Studio Eleven”
comes from Hebrews 11:1, a Bible verse that defines what the word faith means to Christians, and the owners have certainly lived up to the name. “Getting the doors open was a really big leap of faith for us,” said Allen. She and co-owner Bri Precious-Keyes have taken that leap even further by committing to give 40 percent of all their profits to either the Liberty Godparent Home or Daily Bread, both local non-profit organizations. It is the customer who decides which organization the profits will go to. At Studio Eleven, giving back to the community was the obvious choice. “It’s just our labor of love,” Allen said. In six short months, business has taken off. Allen and Precious-Keyes started the store in March 2012 and already have numerous plans for expansion. One thing that sets Studio
Joel Ready | Liberty Champion
NEW LIFE — Studio Eleven gives used furniture a second chance. Eleven furniture apart is the type of paint used on many of the pieces. Chalk paint, not to be confused with chalkboard paint, can be used to create numerous looks, depending on what technique is used. Named for its chalk-like feel when applied to a
surface, it is a user-friendly paint that saves time by eliminating much of the preparation process, such as sanding and priming. Studio Eleven also serves as a vendor for Annie Sloan’s Chalk Paint, the brand they use on their own projects.
Tucked away in the back of the store is a large workspace that serves multiple purposes, but perhaps its primary purpose is to function as a classroom. With approximately three classes a month, customers are given the chance to learn about remaking their own furniture. “We take what’s on HGTV and make it real,” Allen said. The classes also teach 12 different techniques for using Chalk Paint. Robin Turner, who occasionally helps at the store, pointed out that Studio Eleven is “more than just furniture. It’s home improvement.” For those interested in home improvement or just having a look around, Studio Eleven is located at 901 Jefferson Street in Downtown Lynchburg. GUM is a feature reporter.
Lynchburg prepares to ‘Get!Downtown’ Chase Smith csmith13@liberty.edu
Downtown Lynchburg is celebrating its fourth annual Get!Downtown street festival, an opportunity for college students to come together and find out what downThe town has to offer. Greater T h e Lynchburg free event Transit starts Friday, Sept. 7 Company from 6 p.m. will bus to to 9 p.m. and from on Main Street in local Downtown college L y n c h campuses burg. Main Street will on the be closed to night of all traffic as the event. college students and area residents visit the variety of stores, restaurants and vendors that line the street. People will be able to watch live performances by local musicians, dancers and street performers. “We estimate 8,000 to 10,000 people attended the 2011 event, many of whom were college students,” Get!Downtown coordinator Anna Bentson said. “Free Greater Lynchburg Transit Company buses will run from college campuses throughout the evening. Get!Downtown is a great opportunity to explore Downtown Lynchburg and meet students from all six local colleges. Buses will run to college
FYI
Timothy Sutton | Liberty Champion
A NIGHT OUT — Lynchburg residents and college students will meet on Main Street in Downtown Lynchburg for Friday’s festival. campuses from downtown until 11 p.m.” The festival attempts to provide an exciting opportunity for students to meet people from other local colleges while seeing everything that Downtown Lynchburg offers to the community. Take advantage of the various street vendors from downtown stores and restaurants, participate in some friendly competitions and games or just walk around with your friends and enjoy the festivities. “This event is an incredible
way to get the community together and build relationships while also learning about local businesses and organizations that people can support,” Liberty student Chelsea McCall said. “I see the community as the strongest attribute of Downtown Lynchburg. A majority of the people that live here know each other and see each other daily. The community market on Saturdays also brings people together to support the local economy as well as build relationships. I have attended the Get!Downtown fes-
tival for a few years now, and it is a great way to have fun while meeting new people.” “There are some new additions to the street festival this year,” Bentson said. “Get!Downtown features restaurants and venues in Downtown Lynchburg that will host live music beginning at 9 p.m. Visit Dish, Bull Branch, Robin Alexander, White Hart or Speakertree to take part in the events.” McCall especially likes the atmosphere of Downtown Lynchburg.
“Downtown has so much to offer, whether it is biking or walking along the James River or the beautiful Black Water Creek Trail,” McCall said. “It is absolutely stunning and relaxing. There are many local music shows and venues where people can get together and support local musicians as well as have a great time with friends.”
SMITH is a feature reporter.
FEATURE
September 4, 2012
Liberty Champion/B7
Ruth Bibby | Liberty Champion
IN STEP — The Liberty University Marching Band will be rewarded for all its preparation Saturday night during the Flames home opener football game.
Spirit of the Mountain ready for debut Liberty University Marching Band will unveil its new show, “Just the Way You Are,â€? at halftime Sept. 8 The flawless performance and roaring of the crowd makes all the practices and hot days in the sun well worth it. “The show is called ‘Just the Way You Are,’ Stephen Kerr, music professor and director of bands at Liberty University, said. “It’s kind of about love and relationships. We are doing some Bruno Mars (Just the Way You Are), Cannon in D and Cry Me a River by Ella Fitzgerald— that’s more of a Michael BublĂŠ style.â€? In addition to the main theme of the performance, the band also strives to keep its focus on God by choosing a spiritual theme. “It’s called ‘Just Between You and God,’â€? Kerr said. “It’s about those choices we have to make and the relationship between us and God that we need to understand to grow. The most impor-
Melissa Terry mterry3@liberty.edu
From concessions to cleaning, it takes a substantial amount of planning to put on a Liberty Flames football game, but few things require more planning and practice than a Liberty University Marching Band halftime show. Weeks before thoughts of tailgating and red T-shirts ever enter the minds of Flames fans, the Spirit of the Mountain has begun work to make every aspect of their show perfect. It’s Saturday, and the marching band comes out playing a variety of songs, all synchronized perfectly. The crowd is amazed at how good it sounds, but little do they know the countless hours and late-night practices each band member has put into this routine.
tant element is what do we do with Jesus Christ.� According to Kerr, the band council starts with around 10 ideas for show themes, and after selecting four as finalists, the theme that fans will experience during games is chosen. Liberty University junior and marching band member Emily Chastain thinks that audiences will be especially interested in this year’s creation. “I think the show this year can be classified as a pleasant surprise,� Chastain said. “A lot of people will hear the title and get an expectation, but the music will be the opposite of what they think. We have a lot of great soloists that give me chills when they play. I think people should be looking out for a more simple beginning, but a really big finish.�
Even though the themes may change from year to year, Liberty University junior and band member Brandon Osgood always looks forward to the part of the performance that never changes. “The show encompasses all things pertaining to love that include romance and break-ups, but what I am most excited for is being able to march into Williams Stadium for the first time and perform in front of 19,000-plus screaming Flames fans,� Osgood said. “There is nothing like that feeling in the world.� The Liberty University Marching Band will take the field for its first performance of the 2012 season Saturday, Sept. 8, when the Flames take on Norfolk State University. TERRY is a feature reporter.
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FEATURE
SEPTEMBER 4, 2012
Ruth Bibby | Liberty Champion
SPOTLIGHT ON GOD — Clayton King spoke, and the Campus Praise Band performed, as students focused on God during Liberty’s annual Spiritual Emphasis Week.
Spiritual Emphasis Week inspires students Sara Warrender Sewarrender2@liberty.edu
Spiritual Emphasis Week at Liberty is a time where many students focus on God and make decisions that will impact the rest of their life. “I have the best seat of the house,” Justin Kintzel, worship pastor at Liberty University said. “I can look at the top chairs and see hands lifted up. To see everyone engaged was amazing.” Clayton King was this year’s main speaker, his words reaching from the stage into the student body, where his messages were received by many open hearts. A frequent traveler, King was excited to walk the halls of Liberty once again. “This is my favorite place in the world to preach. Every time I leave, I start looking forward to the next time I preach,” King said. This year, King covered
many topics. He taught that God’s followers are loved, saved, secure and sent. They are more than conquerors with the love of Christ. The true emphasis, however, was finding one’s identity in God and His abounding love. “If [the students] can find their identity and their security in the love of God, it would change the rest of their lives,” King said. With these lessons, the students at Liberty can adequately prepare to bring others to Christ through the firm foundation of God in their lives. “Love starts where you are. My mission field is wherever I’m at,” King said in one of his sermons. He declared that students do not need to travel overseas to minister. The mission field is everywhere God allows you to be. “If people don’t know that the gospel makes us love them, they will not believe the gospel has
anything to offer them,” King said. The heartbeat of Liberty is fueled by a love for Christ. “Liberty puts an emphasis on love because there are so many people you can go to,” Liberty student Tyler Hasty said. When learning to be disciples, Liberty students do not need to look far. Liberty is blessed to be led by Christ-centered prayer leaders, pastors, worship leaders and professors. “I like knowing that I always have security in the love of Christ and [that] He is always there for me,” Liberty sophomore Shelby Matthews said. Evangelism professor David Wheeler was thrilled to see God working in the lives of students. “There is more of an openness to share in my class,” Wheeler said. He got the chance to celebrate with several students who were
Ruth Bibby | Liberty Champion
PREACHING TRUTH — King spoke four times during the week. saved or made the choice to re- God at a place like I do here,” dedicate their lives to Christ after King said. the messages presented by King. His laughter made the students “The purpose of Spiritual listen for the next joke while his Emphasis Week is surrendering serious moments stopped Libto God, realizing you can’t do it erty cold, bringing the gospel on your own,” Wheeler said. and presenting it in a new way to Through humor and the occa- freshmen and seniors alike. sional passionate outburst, King opened his heart to the students. WARRENDER is a feature “I’ve never felt the spirit of reporter.
Children’s museum receives grant Greg Leasure gleasure@liberty.edu
Few organizations will ever need to decide what they should do with $132,000. A grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) has given Lynchburg’s Amazement Square the opportunity to make that decision, making them one of only three Virginia museums to receive an IMLS grant this year. Dedicated to interactively educating and entertaining children, Amazement Square will use the $132,944 grant to further their “Balance: Healthy Mind and Body” initiative. They plan to tear out the third floor of their 4-floor, Downtown Lynchburg museum in order to create a health-focused educational exhibit. “We’re working on having a positive spin on making healthy choices, and the whole idea is about balance,” Amazement Square Director of Marketing Ashleigh Karol said. “It’s just about making the right choices and having a balanced, healthy lifestyle.” The new exhibit will be 2,700 square feet and will open in 2014 after the existing health-based exhibit closes in the summer of 2013. The existing exhibit is also health-related, but the new exhibit will provide a new focus on the subject. “The exhibit focuses on three components: nutrition, exercise and making sure you take care of
Greg Leasure | Liberty Champion
FUN AND FIT — Lynchburg’s Amazement Square has educated and entertained children since 2001. your body,” Karol said. “It will really show how to make healthy choices and how those choices will affect your life overall.” IMLS awarded 152 grants this year, including six museum grants within the state of Virginia, which totaled just under $500,000. According to Karol, the folks at Amazement Square are excited about what they could do with the money. However, this type of grant mandates that the organization match the amount
of money they are given. That means Amazement Square is faced with the task of raising $132,000 on their own. “We depend solely on corporate and individual donations.... They are what will help us meet the one-to-one requirement,” Karol said. “Donors are extremely important, and we’re very fortunate to live in a community that gives wholeheartedly.” According to Karol, the grant helps Amazement Square ac-
complish its goals, but the “Balance” initiative will cost about $600,000 when everything is done. That’s why donors are so important. Developing health-related programs to go along with the new exhibit is also an important part of the new initiative, and that is where members of the community and Centra Health come in. Centra has even contributed a $25,000 grant toward the project. “We’ve been meeting with
a health advisory committee, which includes pediatricians, pediatric cardiologists, members of the Centra Health staff and school nurses from the Lynchburg city school system,” Karol said. “We’re getting their input because they’re working with children and families, seeing the problem firsthand. We’re just asking what we can do to respond to those needs.” Located at 27 Ninth St. in Downtown Lynchburg, Amazement Square does educate about health, but some of the most popular exhibits are found in other areas of the museum. The paint box, a small room made entirely of glass, allows children to paint on the walls. A model of Lynchburg’s James River flows through one corner of the fourth floor, showing children how the river affects the weather patterns of the Hill City, and children can even create their own rainstorm. Other popular attractions are a zip line, a bug exhibit (complete with a scorpion and a tarantula) and a tower full of tubes to crawl through. The “Balance” initiative will not be completed until mid2014, but that has not stopped Amazement Square from working to help every child to “reach their full potential.” Now, with the help of IMLS, they are one step closer to reaching that goal. LEASURE is the feature editor.