The Vessel | Nov. 2017

November 2017

Volume 5 Issue 3

the

vessel Tuition Reset

A Change in Sticker Price for the USF Experience

USF Worship Hands up, Worries Down

LGBTQ+ Finding Community

A Print Publication of USF Student Media.

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Contents

4 6 USF Worship 9 Finding Community 12 Recipes for Thanksgiving 13 Event-Fall 14 Technology & Faith 15 On the Cutting Edge The USF Experience

A Change in Sticker Price

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12

Hands Up, Worries Down

The LGBTQ+ Voice

9

Recipes for Thanksgiving

Sioux Falls’ Fall Activities

13 14

Effects of Social Media on Religion

The Latest Technology Gadgets

Cover Photo courtesy of the University of Sioux Falls Marketing Department| Logo Designed by Adria Botella.

Note From The Editor The magazine is titled The Vessel because, much like a ship, it is our job to report on campus news and deliver it to the students, faculty, staff, and alumni of the University.

Stay up-to-date on the latest campus news by going to usfvessel.com. Please note, any opinions presented in the magazine are not a reflection of The Vessel magazine, the Media Department, or the University of Sioux Falls; they belong to only the writer.

If you are interested in writing for the magazine or would like to submit

creative works, including poems, shorts stories, photography or art, email us at vessel.usiouxfalls@gmail.com.

Unless stated otherwise, photos seen throughout the magazine are courtesy of Design Editor and Vessel Photographer, Yuharelly Comparan.

Thanksgiving is Thursday, November 23rd. Remember to have a safe holiday as you travel home.

Whitney Fryer Print & Website Editor whitney.fryer@usiouxfalls.edu

15

CHEER TEAM Story by Jeff Harman

The atmosphere at a sporting event can make or break it. Is the stadium loud?

Are the fans screaming at the top of their lungs? Are the players on the field or court competing with high energy? All these are key factors to whether or not an events atmosphere is exciting for fans.

One sport that contributes to the atmosphere at events is cheer. A cheer team can get the fans yelling and make them feel as if they are a part of the game, while also motivating the players.

Maddie Miller, a captain on the cheer team and Elementary Education major, says she loves supporting Cougar sports.

“I love watching sports and leading the crowds in cheers,” Miller says.

USF’s cheer team, led by head coach Kayla State, can be found on the sidelines for home football games at Bob Young Field, as well as on the baseline for men’s and women’s basketball games in the Stewart Center.

The team is made up of 24 studentathletes from all over the country.

One of the biggest stigmas about

cheer-leading is that its an exclusively female sport. Although this may be true for the NFL, this is not the case for collegiate athletics. Some of the biggest universities boast several male cheerleaders that can be seen on the sidelines of big stadiums performing in front of thousands.

Cougar cheer is proud to boast a few male members of its own -- Brandon Gray, Lawton Luke, and Josiah Abraham.

Abraham, a junior exercise science major, became interested in cheer toward the end of his freshman year. Some members of the team had known about his experience in gymnastics and asked if he would be interested.

season, the team will perform at a minimum of five home games -- roughly ten hours of performance.

Abraham says that training is as strenuous mentally as it is physically.

“Focusing on not allowing people to fall and keeping people safe requires a lot of focus and trust in the rest of the team,” Abraham says.

Not only is cheer a good workout, but it can be a great way to get involved and show Cougar spirit.

“Cheer is a great way to be involved in the school and show my school spirit. It’s a great experience,” Miller says.

“Being a male cheerleader is fun,” Abraham says. “There is a mutual respect between guys and girls on the team.”

Students can chant along with cheers as well as dance with the music throughout Cougar sporting events to show true spirit.

Male members of the team must perform stunts, sometimes having to hold female members in the air on their own.

Abraham admits to being a “gym rat” outside of cheer and also competes in jump rope.

The cheer team hosts tryouts in April.

You can contact Coach State for more information. See the cheer team at the last home football game of the season on November 11th at 12 PM at Bob Young Field.

The cheer squad must endure strenuous training in order to be in shape for season. The team trains roughly four to six hours each week. During the football

A Change in Sticker Price for the USF Experience Story by Marissa Lute | Photos courtesy of the University of Sioux Falls Marketing Department

When it comes to attending college, one of the major concerns of students is the price of tuition and how they are going to pay for it. However, students at the University of Sioux Falls no longer have to worry about the hefty tuition “sticker price.”

Upon realizing the disconnect between the advertised cost and the amount of money students actually pay, the University of Sioux Falls recently announced a tuition reset.

On October 5, 2017, USF President, Dr. Brett Bradfield announced that students at the University of Sioux Falls will be seeing a change in tuition.

Current and prospective students will be affected by the tuition reset in the Fall 2018 semester.

In a press conference to the public, Bradfield says, “The tuition reset builds upon USF’s long history of general financial assistance and will return tuition to levels last seen in 2007 2008, and place USF among the most affordable institutions in the region.”

Dr. Bradfield discusses how the mission of USF is to provide better accessibility and high quality education.

“We often hear from students, parents, prospective students and their parents about a desire to have the USF experience. Once we get them here, they feel it and they want it. But then the next conversation is about their concerns about how they’ll afford it as a family,” Bradfield says.

He says the board of trustees and the university leadership began to research ways to make the USF experience more affordable nearly two years ago.

“What’s so special about our close-

$27,980

knit community, here at the University of Sioux Falls, is that its supportive faith and academic community that it provides an intensely personal learning environment, meaningful opportunities to serve in our community, state and region that supports our existence.

And we support an authentic and inclusive Christian world view,” Bradfield says.

Corey Ross, the Vice President of Student Development, agrees the tuition reset is a win-win for everybody.

He says current students will be benefitted financially from the frozen housing and meal plan costs, and prospective students and their families will appreciate a more transparent and accessible financial framework.

“And we all benefit when more students see the value in a USF education, become transformed through their experience here, and make a positive impact for Christ in our world as graduates,” Ross says.

- $10,000

$17,980

0

Current students believe the tuition reset will be a good change for USF. Jared Peasley, a junior, says the tuition reset is a positive change, not only for himself, but for all students.

“It will make it a whole lot easier for parents and students to understand what they are going to be paying, so this is going to make it easier for future students to understand,” Peasley says.

While the cost of tuition and the savings are the main focuses of this reset, the new sticker price might make USF more appealing when it comes to the many options one has to further their education.

Junior Tesla Cheek says she is happy with the savings she will be seeing next fall.

“I think it is a great strategy, because compared to Augie (Augustana University), which is $38,000 a year, a lot more students are going to come here,” Cheek says.

Augustana’s annual tuition is $31,450, and total annual cost of attendance is just under $40,000.

Cheek says the difference in tuition numbers is actually one of the reasons she chose USF over other schools.

The current published, tuition sticker price is $27,980. However in a year from now, that number will decrease by $10,000. The USF Tuition Reset

brings the published price in line with what students and families are actually paying.

The University says they hope to create a clear view of the real cost of tuition paired with the scholarships and grants that are given each year.

“If we truly believe that education is a gateway to opportunity, then we must also be leaders in making sure it’s financially accessible,” Bradfield says.

Students say they are looking forward to how this change will allow the University of Sioux Falls to remain viable and true as a Christian, liberal arts university.

Up, Hands Story & photos taken by Ellie Herman

USF has been known for the motto “Culture for Service,” and is implementing ways to “pour into” students who “pour out” constantly.

Students are usually worrying about academics and other activities like athletics, choir, theatre, band, jobs, fulfilling leadership roles and so much more. Campus ministries has tried to have a night in the past where the USF community as Christians can come together and focus on worshiping God, but it has been a process to coordinate.

Beginning last year, Campus Ministries officially implemented what is now called “Thursday Night Worship.” Cody Bollweg, a senior Music Ministry major and a leader at worship night says it’s a really good environment to experience midweek.

“We always start with three or four songs just to get into it. Then we usually have a student testimony

6 | The Vessel

that runs a couple minutes long that shares what God has been doing in their hearts and with their own walk,” Bollweg says. “Then we go back into some worship and then we end with community time and just hang out and chill. People can leave if they want to or they can stay and chat.”

Matt Harsch, Assistant Campus Pastor and USF Alumnus says that idea of worship night came from an event on campus that was held in the past called Prayer Group.

“On a Thursday night what we would do is we would meet in the basement of Jeschke in the green room and we would worship with music. Often times we would have a speaker come in and talk. We’d have small breakout sessions where we literally had life groups on campus, and that was a huge thing,” Harsch says.

Harsh says that he wanted to see the experience he had as a student

continue as a staff member.

“About 60 to 80 kids would come weekly. That’s something that I did, and so when I came on staff at USF, a lot of those people had graduated.

I thought, ‘hey, let’s do a worship night and do it after the same kind of model,” Harsch says.

Prayer Group has existed on campus in many forms, like Worship Under the Stars on the Quad, Worship Under the Stairs in the Jeschke Green Room, and an off-campus option called Resonate out of Life Church, which continued through the 2015-2016 academic year. However, it wasn’t a convenient option for all students.

Bollweg says that he thinks moving the group back to campus was the right decision.

“It was good; it was a really great night, but it was off campus and it

Worries was on a Friday night. If people were not hanging out, they were going home,” Bollweg says. “They just kind of decided that it would be good to move it on campus and get a lot more people involved and move it to Thursday nights so that people were less occupied.”

In the fall semester of 2016, both sophomore Music Ministry major Elizabeth Enalls and Campus Ministries saw the potential for a worship night. Campus Ministries saw the passion that Elizabeth had and made her a position on Campus Ministries where she coordinates and administrates worship nights every Thursday.

“The process has been awesome. It’s full of great people and purpose, but it has also been tough. Finding our place on campus is sometimes rocky, but the administration has been really good about seeing us and learning how we can accommodate

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one another,” Enalls says. “It’s also been wonderful to have so many other students involved with their time, energy, and sometimes money.”

Harsch says that Thursday Night Worship keeps developing people into leaders, and that’s what drives the success of it all.

“A lot of it is based on the hard work from the students,” Harsh says. “We started with only one worship team, now I think we’re up to five or six full worship teams. It kind of grows as the leadership grows,” These teams include not just Music Ministry majors, but many different majors in the campus community.

Bollweg is one of the worship leaders.

“When you mess up, it does not even matter because they [students] just laugh with you,” Bollweg says.

“People just come and they actually want to be there. It’s not church, it’s not chapel, it’s just super genuine and that’s awesome.”

Sophomore Andrea Manning, vice president of student campus ministries, says she always has a busy week ahead of her, but loves the time she spends on Thursday nights in such an inviting space.

“Thursday night worship is one of the main things that I look forward to during the week,” Manning says. “As a student at Thursday night worship, it’s a place where I don’t have to think about anything else going on and I can really focus in on how God has been working through me during that week. I can celebrate that in worship.”

Some students also have the opportunity “behind-the-scenes” work. During his senior year, Michael Van Diepen ran the behind-

November 2017 | 7

the-scenes work with help from Harsch and other students. Now an MBA student at USF, Van Diepen is still volunteering his time to set up every Thursday night.

“Around 7:00 or 7:30 I get ready to start setting things up for the worship team. We pull everything out of the closet and get all the instruments plugged in and ready to go,” Van Diepen says. “You don’t always realize how much work goes into it, but Matt and I will be here anywhere from 7:00 to 11:00 some nights for a one hour worship night. There’s a lot of stuff that goes on outside that one hour.”

Not only do Bollweg and Van Diepen help coordinate worship here at USF, but also coordinate a combined worship with Augustana along with Van Diepen’s younger brother, Austin. “[Combined Worship Night] has been on our minds for years now, we just never really did anything about

it. Last year we kind of just went for it and started it up and see what happens and it exploded. There was no way we could have planned for how well it went for the first time,” Bollweg says.

Van Diepen, being aware of the rival, is looking at the bigger picture with the two universities.

“We’ve made several connections with Augie,” Van Diepen says. “It was a desire to have a unity between the two campuses. Obviously we still value the rivalry of the football teams and the sports. It’s fun to have that.

But, just kind of desiring to have the unity as one church and be able to have a way we can worship together while still being our own.”

With well over 200 students in attendance from both universities, the coordinators have decided to have the combined worship night at least once or twice a semester.

Enalls says the she believes that with

the way worship night is going, it has a lot of potential in the future for the USF community.

“This has really become something that I feel like a lot of people feel ownership over and therefore I know it will continue to grow even when my ‘generation’ graduates,” Enalls says.

“Because of us coming together and intentionally asking God to come to our campus, I believe that things are starting to happen, conversations are being had, and people are experiencing God even outside of Worship Night, and that makes it an energizing force.”

Thursday Night Worship happens every Thursday at 9:00 PM in Ward Lobby or in front the Fireplace by Student Development.

If you would like to get involved with volunteering for worship night, contact Matt Harsch at matt.harsch@ usiouxfalls.edu.

Finding Community Story by LaShe Tatum

Engaging in conversations about controversial topics can be a more delicate situation on a Christian campus like USF, and resources and “safe spaces� are not always readily available to students who are members of the LGBTQ community.

Although Sioux Falls lies in the heart of a more conservative state, there are groups both in the city and individuals on campus who desire to see a more open and supportive community.

There are students at USF who are openly homosexuals and some who are not so open. Campus pastor Dennis Thum says that there are a lot of different views on campus about the LGBTQ community.

November 2017 | 9

“USF tries to allow people to have conversations, be themselves, and still remain safe,” Thum says on behalf of the university.

“I’m here for all students and work to provide a safe and supportive environment in which students can openly discuss concerns,” Kliewer says.

“We are striving as a Christian community to be respectful and to understand that Christians do not see eye to eye on this issue. Because Christians are divided on this issue, and because USF is a small campus, we really try to respect people’s privacy and their freedom to wrestle with decisions and with their view on this topic,” Thum says.

She also says that anyone looking for more support within the Sioux Falls community should reach out to The Center for Equality.

But students here at USF don’t have to wrestle alone. Michelle DeHooghKliewer, campus counselor of mental health, says that she provides free and confidential counseling services to USF students for any issues they wish to process.

The Center for Equality is a non-profit organization with volunteers who advocate for lesbians, gays, bisexuals and individuals who are transgender.

However, because of the lack of volunteers, the organization recently merged and transitioned into Sioux Falls Pride.

Adam Jorgensen, director of Sioux Falls Pride, is a USF alumnus and a open homosexual. He says that Sioux Falls Pride refers people to counselors and also offers Pride events that people can participate in.

Jorgensen says that he believes the transition to Sioux Falls Pride will be successful.

“We’ve had the best and biggest reviews from our Sioux Falls Pride Festival that we have every year in Terrace Park and

the community has been extremely supportive,” Jorgensen says. Over the past three years, the festival has grown from a little over 200 people in 2014, to over 8000 this year. Next year’s event is scheduled for June 16th.

Aajaze Davis, an openly homosexual student at USF, says that he would like to see a group on campus.

“I have never heard of The Center for Equality and I’ve never been to a pride event here in Sioux Falls. If anything, a group should be here on campus for those of us who are part of the LGBTQ community,” Daivs says. “I understand that it’s not something that will happen over night but I believe in the near future we should have something.”

Unlike Adam Jorgensen, who felt as if USF was extremely warm and welcoming in him being an openly gay male on a Christian campus, Davis says that alone is not enough.

“I don’t feel like USF or the city has many resources for the LGBTQ community.

When I moved here, I didn’t find my place right away and South Dakota is a conservative state and it’s not as open as it should be,” Davis says.

Davis says that he doesn’t think USF has an outreach for people like him, but understands that this issue is controversial.

“It’s so hard to come into a place and automatically fit in, especially when you’re considered different. But surprisingly, I get a lot of love from the students here and that’s all everyone wants — is to feel loved. I’ve never met with the school counselor or the campus minister, but I feel like now is a great opportunity for me to do so,” Davis says.

Over the years, Davis says he struggled and sometimes continues to suffer from eating disorders, which he says is very common in the LGBTQ community.

“I’m not sure why, but sometimes I felt weak. People would talk about me and it became stressful because I can’t control what others think or say about me. But not eating was my choice, and I felt like I had full control over my own body,” Davis says.

Despite not having a social group as an outlet on USF’s campus, Davis says he was able to gain friendships by simply being himself.

“I’m really not here to impress anyone but God, and I understand where my relationship with Him is and nobody can take that away from me,” Davis says. “I love expressing myself and at the end of the day, I am happy.”

Davis said once he understood that his relationship with God was most important, he was able to love himself more and not worry about what others thought of him.

“It varies so much from student to student,” Thum says. “Some are extremely private since we are such a small campus and find more support by being less public. Sioux Falls is a safe community but it is still a conservative community. This is a case by case situation.”

Thum also says that a Christian university can look at this topic differently than a church.

“Supporting members from the LGBTQ community at a Christian college doesn’t mean that one should compromise their faith, but be faithful to what Jesus called us to do, which is love one another,” Thum says. “Because we aren’t a church,

we can accept the fact that people have different thoughts on this issue.”

Davis says that he believes people should love one another despite differences.

“Everyone is tripping now days because we’re different, and what I’ve learned is no matter how a person feels about you, still love them,” Davis says. “I am not the same gay now that I was two years ago. I know who I am, I know who I am in God, and God is the only one who can judge me. Love is contagious and at the end of the day, I believe, love wins,” The University of Sioux Falls is open in meeting the needs of all students, faculty and staff and encourages them to become familiar with all of resources readily available right here on campus.

What are you bringing for Thanksgiving dinner?

Do not go home over the holidays empty handed; here are two great and easy dishes to prepare and bring to dinner or just to try on their own! Casserole recipe courtesy of the Food Network and dessert recipe courtesy of Whitney Fryer.

Green Bean Casserole or No-Bake Pumpkin Pie? Ingredients • • • • • • • • •

2 lbs. Fresh green beans • ¼ tsp. cayenne pepper Salt • 1 cup cheddar cheese 4 slices bacon (cut into pieces) (shredded) 3 cloves garlic (minced) • 1 cup panko breadcrumbs 1 red bell pepper (diced) ½ large onion (chopped) 4 tbsp. butter 4 tbsp. flour 2 cups milk

Directions 1. Preheat the oven to 350° 2. Cut ends off beans and cut in half. Blanch the green beans: drop into lightly salted boiling water and cook 3-5 minutes.

Remove from boiling water with a slotted spoon and place in a bowl of ice water. Drain beans once cool and set aside.

3. Over medium heat, add bacon; cook for 4 minutes. Then add peppers, garlic and onions; cook until bacon is done and onions are golden brown.

4. In a separate pan over medium heat, melt butter. Sprinkle flour into pan; whisk. Pour in milk; whisk constantly while sauce

thickens. Add 1½ tsp. salt, cayenne, and grated cheese. Stir while cheese melts. Turn off heat.

5. Add bacon mixture and green beans into pan; stir to combine.

Pour into a baking dish and top with breadcrumbs 6. Bake until sauce is bubbly and panko is golden (30 minutes).

Ingredients • Pie crust (pre-made) • 1 can pure pumpkin puree • 4 oz. cream cheese • 1 can evaporated milk • 1 cup dark-brown sugar • 1 tsp. cinnamon • ¼ tsp. nutmeg • ¼ tsp. ginger • ¾ tsp. salt

Directions 1. Preheat oven to 325° 2. Press pie crust into a 9-inch square baking dish; bake until crust is a deep golden brown.

3. In a large bowl mix pumpkin and cream cheese until smooth.

4. In a small pan over medium heat, add evaporated milk, brown sugar, spices, and salt.

5. Pour milk mixture into pumpkin; whisk until smooth.

6. Pour filling in crust after cool, place in refrigerator until completely set (about 3 hours).

wa rtz Sch ey By Ten l

As it gets cold outside, warm up with some coffee and spend some time relaxing and creating an original piece in the clay studio!

Location: Washington Pavilion Dates: November 18 & December 16 | 10 AM - 12 PM Cost: Non-Member $14 | Member $12.60

lder It might be getting co ll plenty outside, but there’s sti to do in Sioux Falls!

Help the city of Sioux Falls kick off the Christmas season at the Parade of Lights! With brightly lit floats and holiday music, you’ll be in the Christmas spirit in no time!

Location: Downtown Sioux Falls | 230 S Phillips Ave Date: November 24 | 7:30 PM Cost: Free

Looking to start an art collection?

Check out this unique art show! Over 30 artists contributed small works to sell for only five dollars!

Location: Ipso Gallery at Fresh Produce | 400 N Main Ave, Ste 100 Date: Opening Night | November 10 Cost: Free Admission | $5 Artwork

Wardrobe in need of an update?

Bring your gently used clothing to the clothing swap and get credit to take home a new-to-you piece (up to 10 swaps)! Drop off clothes earlier in the week, or from 6-7pm on the day of.

Location: Museum of Visual Materials | 500 N Main Avenue Date: November 2 | Social Hour & Clothing Drop Off | 6 - 7 PM Clothing Swap | 7 - 8 PM Cost: Free

The Sioux Empire Arts and Crafts Show is a great place to find creative, handmade gifts for the upcoming holidays. Not in a gift-giving mood?

Shop for yourself or just browse the work created by creative vendors!

Location: WH Lyons Building |100 N Lyon Blvd Dates: November 10 @ 11 AM November 11 / 9am Cost: $5 Admission

November 2017 | 13

Story by Casey Kelderman

The Faith and Science Forum meets every semester at USF as professors discuss the relationship between science and the Christian religion. One of the forums this semester examined the question, “Is Technology Advancing the Faith Community?”

The forum discussed both the benefits and detriments technology has had on religion in the Christian community.

One of the professors that has led these forums is Assistant Professor of Philosophy and Theology, Dr. James Foster. Foster says that he has found that information that was nearly impossible to find in the past is readily accessible due to the advancements in technology.

“When I was in seminary, if you wanted all the translations (of the Bible), only institutions could have one,” Foster says.

“Now all are there and can be found online.”

According to Foster, the incorporation of religion has many benefits, but it also has many disadvantages when it comes to the interpretation and retention of faith based research.

Foster says he relates the search for a certain book in the library to how we study religion. In the library you look for a certain book, but along the way you discover other books and say, “Hey that looks interesting”.

“Now that searching is so lighting fast, those virtues aren’t necessary,” Foster says on the virtue of discovery. “Because they aren’t necessary, we don’t cultivate them. Since we don’t cultivate them, we don’t need them. Then we don’t have them. Immediacy of technology doesn’t teach us to read deeply.”

With over 150 churches in the Sioux Falls community, you’d be hard pressed to find a church that does not use technology in some form, whether that be a website or allowing members to view the service online or on television.

Austin Clemen, a student at USF and the Head Video Editor at Faith Family Church in Sioux Falls, has experienced firsthand how technology has impacted the church. Clemen says he has found that technology has allowed for a more welcoming environment for those who have rarely attended or have never attended church.

Churches that may not use large lighting or presentation displays still tend to have a way for those in the community to discover their church. Nearly all of the churches in the Sioux Falls community have a website, some of which include either live streams of services, or upload services after each Sunday worship.

“I see it as a way to help set the atmosphere for people to enter,” Clemen says. “They feel comfortable because the church feels more like what they are used to in everyday life.”

“Church websites are a great way to see what the church is like so you can see if you would like to attend.

When technology is a supplement to embodied community it is very good,” Foster says. “When it replaces that community, it’s like replacing Coke with a Diet Coke -- it’s just not as good. You are not participating richly in an embodied community. We are embodied beings.

We need actual physical community. It feels like something is lacking when we don’t do that.”

Faith Family Church has integrated technology through the use of special video announcements, presenting song or Bible lyrics on a large presentation screen, as well as incorporating a live band to the sermon.

As technology continues to grow and evolve, it has become harder for individuals to remain individuals.

Technology allows for so much information to be given to us that it often takes away from our own thoughts.

“One of the biggest ways the technology we use helps get members involved is through our band,” Clemen says.

“It (technology) has made it harder for us to think about what we want to think about, rather than someone else telling us what we want to think about,” Foster says. “The internet is a machine for others to get us to think about what they want us to think about.”

The live band at Faith Family Church has allowed for volunteers in the congregation to display their skills or learn new ones to benefit the experience of the church service.

“From the sound technician to the light operator, almost everyone is a volunteer,” Clemen says. “They volunteer their time to use those forms of technology to set the atmosphere of the worship in our church.”

The USF Faith and Technology forums will continue in the Spring of 2018.

Audio from all previous Faith and Science forums can be found on the University of Sioux Falls website.

On the Cutting Edge

Opinion Piece

Story by Jacob VanEngen Photos courtesy of unsplash.com

It’s 2017, and not only can I carry a calculator in my pocket -- much to the bane of my second grade teacher -but I can also store a camera, phone, music, game player, supermarket, and a connection to the greatest source of information and misinformation to ever have existed -- the world wide web.

Let’s discuss some of the new popular technology that came out within the past few months.

First, let’s talks about the state of the console wars. Microsoft’s Xbox One has been a great gaming console and media center for a few years now, but one revision of the console has already come out while another is set to release shortly on November 7.

The Xbox One S was released on August 2 and is available now for around $275, but I would expect to see some pretty great Black Friday sales for the console.

Compared to the original, the One S provides a processor and graphical upgrade up to 4K resolution, but only through anti-aliasing. If you don’t have an Xbox One at all but would like one, this is a tempting offer. However, I would not recommend an upgrade from your current system.

The Xbox One X is set to release on Nov. 7, packing a serious performance

upgrade and true 4K resolution at 60Hz. Unfortunately, at $499 I would not consider this a viable purchase, certainly not without first seeing how games optimized for the system play on other Xbox One systems.

Lastly, let’s talk phones. I am going to make this quick and simple. Don’t get the Galaxy Note 8 for $930, don’t get the Google Pixel 2 for $850, don’t get the iPhone 8 for $800, and definitely don’t get the iPhone X for $1000.

As for Sony share of the market, they just recently released their upgrade to the PlayStation 4, the PS4 Pro. Sadly, the PS4 Pro goes through basically the same song and dance as the Xbox One X. Any game will still be playable, though not optimized for the previous system, and at $399 it is still difficult to justify an upgrade. However, for a new PlayStation buyer, I could see this being a possibility as standard PS4’s are still selling for around $250. You just have to decide how important 4K resolution is to you.

This is important-- they aren’t worth it!

The changes are minimal at best and facial scan on the iPhone X is a just a huge gimmick. Seriously, Apple couldn’t get it to work properly at their own unveiling!

Now for my favorite product on the docket, the Nintendo Switch. Call me bias, but I absolutely love this system!

It may not boast the fastest processor, most RAM, or even 4K resolution, but every time I take it on the go (which is much more than I expected), I am shocked by how much they did manage to pack into such a tiny portable system!

And for only $300 it is an outstanding release by Nintendo, who, after the absolute flop that was the Wii U, needed a win.

Truth be told, all these phones have the same downfall. Each one of them is more powerful than we currently need a phone to be, or can even fully utilize. Along with that, the previous generations are fully capable doing any task that we currently ask of a phone.

If you do have $950 to drop on a phone, consider some other phones such as the HUAWEI Mate 10 Pro -- a phone with a 20MP and f/1.6 aperture camera for phenomenal low light, 18:9 OLED 402ppi display, and the ability to plug the phone into a monitor and using it like a computer! Seriously, this is a really cool looking phone.

Other than that, please just stick with the phone you have, or purchase an older model.

November 2017 | 14

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