October 9, 2015
Volume 110 - Issue 6
calvin.edu/chimes
SICARO PAGE 4
PAID ATHELETES? PAGE 5
WATER ON MARS PAGE 8
Accredited film alumna returns to Calvin
THE NEW BARBARISM PAGE 11
A literary cocktail hour
BY MORGAN ANDERSON
Guest Writer
PHOTO BY JACK VAN ALLSBURG
BY JACK VAN ALLSBURG
AND JULIANA LUDENMA
Staff Writers
On Wednesday night, alumna
and four-time Oscar nominated
production designer Jeannine
Oppewall gave the inaugural
address of the Loeks Lectures in
Film and Media, a series sponsored by Celebration Cinema and
the Loeks family.
D u r i ng he r p re se nt at ion ,
Oppewall described her work
and philosophy throughout a
career that has spanned the last
40 years in Hollywood. Her celebrated filmography comprises
almost 40 films, with Academy
Awa rd nom i nat ion s for he r
work on “L.A. Confidential”
(1997), “Pleasantville” (1998),
“Seabiscuit” (2003) and “The
Good Shepherd” (2006).
Oppewall has collaborated
wit h a number of renow ned
f ig ures in the f ilm industr y,
i nc lu d i n g d i r e c t o r s St e ve n
Spielberg, Brian de Palma and
Clint Eastwood, among others.
According to film professor Carl
Plantinga during his introduction for Oppewall: “She’s widely
known as one of the country’s
leading production designers.”
Oppewall began her address
by quoting a marquee pictured
on the screen behind her: “‘Good
films make your life better.’ This
is what we believe.”
She went on to describe her work
and process in-depth for three
of her films: “Tender Mercies”
(1983), “L.A. Con f ident ia l”
(1997) and “Snow Falling on
Cedars” (1999). “Tender Mercies”
was Oppewall’s f irst f ilm as
a production designer. The movie starred Robert Duvall and
Tess Ha r pe r w it h d i rec t ion
from Bob Beresford, for which
her production design received
critical praise.
“After I worked with
Charles Eames,
nobody ever asked to
see my portfolio — ever.
I learned design at the
feet of the master.”
Speaking on the role of a production designer in the production process, Oppewall said, “My
job is to find, manipulate and
create environments for characters ... the production designer
is responsible for the contextual
atmosphere of the story.”
“Designers are like shaman
— we feel out the deep and hidden spirits of a place, whether
they are human or natural,” said
Oppewall.
Oppewall also spoke on her
work with furniture designers
Charles and Ray Eames, and
the importance of that experience
on her career. “After I worked
with Charles Eames, nobody
ever asked to see my portfolio —
ever. I learned design at the feet
of the master.”
Oppewall, a native of Uxbridge,
Mass., attended Calvin College
i n t h e 19 7 0 s . H e r t i m e a t
Calvin included a stint as editor
of Chimes.
“I lea r ned a n enor mous
amount. I learned a lot of stuff
that you cannot learn in class,”
said Oppewall of her time as
editor. “It was a really wonderful
thing to have done.”
Studying English literature,
Oppewall also attended classes
with Calvin art history professor
Edgar Boeve, who was in attendance at the event. Describing
Boeve’s influence on her, she said,
“He’s a total inspiration. He’s the
one who started me on this path
to destruction. ... He’s a national
treasure.”
Designing believable
sets often involves a
lot of creative trickery.
“I’m in the business of
fooling people.”
Oppewall’s most recent film,
“Last Days in the Desert,” features the acting talents of Ewan
McGregor and the cinematography of Emmanuel Lubezki.
Directed by Rodrígo Garcia,
“Last Days in the Desert” premiered on Jan. 25, 2015. Future
projects for Oppewall include a
currently untitled film revolving
around the later years of Howard
Hughes. Directed by and starring
Academy Award winner Warren
Beatty, the film is set for release
sometime in 2016.
The night before her address,
Oppewall attended a showing
T h i s pa s t T hu r sd ay on
October 1, the English department held their second
annual October Happy Hour.
The party was a lively way to
enjoy the afternoon, according
to students.
Professor Debra Rienstra
commented, “We do a lot
of serious work in the English
d e pa r t me nt , b ut we a l s o
think it’s important to have a
little silly fun together once
i n awh i le a nd e njoy o ne
another’s company. And we
need to exercise our pun muscles occasionally. It’s good for
the soul.”
Live cocktail-hour music was provided along
with donuts, coffee and cider — the perfect food for
transitioning into fall. There
were a variety of pumpkin
donuts: pumpkin with cream
cheese frosting, plain pumpkin, chocolate covered pumpkin and cinnamon-sugar covered pumpkin.
The party had a
specifically ‘60s “Mad Men”
theme. While some people
dressed for the part, others
didn’t and everyone was enjoying themselves, whether they
were wearing normal clothes
or not.
During the party, there was
also a “literary mocktail” competition. Students were to create the best mock cocktail they
could, and the drink would
be judged on the name, how
it tasted and its presentation,
with a prize in each category.
Some examples of the four
dr in ks submit ted were “A
Midsummer’s Night Daiquiri”
and “Paradise Sloshed.” These
drinks were judged by English
department co-chair Chad
Engbers, chaplain Mary Hulst
a nd A nd rea Le Roy, w i fe
of Calvin College president
Michael Le Roy. The prizes for
category winners were boxes of
chocolates and signed copies
of books from previous years’
Festival of Faith and Writing
authors.
Engbers commented, “The
drink competition was brand
new this year, and I think it
would have been f un even
if I hadn’t had the chance to
sample all of the entries. It’s
always fun to see people being creative. We see this in
our students’ writing all the
time, but the drinks students
came up with tended to look
great and taste great in addition to the fact that they had
witty names.”
PHOTO COURTESY CALVIN ENGLISH DEPARTMENT
The fancy-dress “mocktail party” was themed after the
popular AMC series, Mad Men.
of her movie “Catch Me if You
Can” at Celebration! Cinema,
which was free for Calvin and
GVSU students.
A Q&A after the show revolved
around the details of the movie’s
production design. Oppewall
described her role in making the
film, gave away design secrets
and joked about director and
friend Steven Spielberg.
“The production designer is
given and takes responsibility
for every environment you see on
screen,” she explained, describing
her position. Designing believable
sets often involves a lot of creative
trickery. “I’m in the business of
fooling people.”
t h e o f f i c i a l s t u d e n t n e w s p a p e r o f c a lv i n c o l l e g e s i n c e
19 07
C a lv i n f i l m s t u d e nt s s e e
Oppewall’s success in the film
industry as a source of encouragement.
“It ’s rea l ly hea r te n i ng to
know that someone who comes
from Calvin, and in particular
Michigan, which isn’t known for
its film industry … was able to
work hard and work her way up
and do some of these projects,”
said Helen Groothuis, a junior
writing major.
“It’s definitely inspiring,” said
sophomore digital communication major Matt Sweda, “because
See “Film Alumna,” page 2
Chimes
2015-2016
Campus News
Film alumna: Students
Editor in Chief
Anna Delph
Print Editor
Josh Parks
Online Editor
Katelyn Bosch
Head Copy Editor
Becky Jen
Arts & Entertainment
Nate Hunt
Campus
Jon Gorter
Maddie Hughey
Features
Hannah Fertich
Local
Sophie VanSickle
Science & Technology
Natasha Strydhorst
Opinion & Editorial
Kelsey Powers
Religion
Eckhart Chan
Sports
Mark Peless
Advisors
Jennifer Hoag
Lynn Rosendale
respond to speech
Continued from page 1
this industry is so far away geographically you say, ‘Oh, how will
I ever get there, how will I ever
have an influence on that scene?’
It’s really good to see people
that are making real impacts
with stuff that we’ve seen. Not
just ‘Oh, they’re Calvin grads, I
need to look at their stuff,’ but
‘I’ve seen this movie and I know
this stuff.’”
“I’m encouraged because she
didn’t go to a ‘film film’ school,”
said Kar yn Ostrem, a senior
majoring in digital media production. “You hear a lot about people
who do intense film schools .. and
then you’re like, ‘Oh, someone
who didn’t go to a super intense
film school did well.’”
Oppewall has been meeting
with students for lunch this week
as well. “It’s cool that she’s coming here and is willing to have
lunch with us and hang out with
us,” said senior film/media minor
Lydia Koning.
“We were talking about why
a lot of Hollywood seems to be
dominated by men,” Koning said.
“We were talking about the life/
work balances that women in
those fields have to experience.
… It’s a really big deal when a
woman director wins an Oscar
because it just doesn’t happen
that often.”
Groothuis agreed, saying, “As
a Calvin graduate and also as
PHOTO COURTESY CALVIN.EDU
a woman, to succeed in all that
she’s done I think is really cool.”
William Romanowski, professor of f ilm/media, thinks
Oppewall’s sk ills relate to a
Calvin education. “She talked
about standards and about excellence and about doing research
and working with people. I would
hope students would realize that
getting a Christian liberal arts
education can be beneficial in
working in a field like this.”
Film/media professor Carl
Plantinga originally came up
with the idea for this event,
wh ich t he de pa r t me nt t he n
brought to the Loeks family at
Celebration! Cinema.
“The idea was to bring in high
profile people who work in film
and media and then open it up
to the community,” professor
Romanowski explained. “In this
instance you get to see a film and
then hear a designer talk about
what really is involved in doing
the art design for the entire film.
It really enhances your experience with the film and how the
industry works.” And, he said, he
hopes it will be the first in a series.
According to Emily Loeks,
who put on the event, “We said
yes [to the film department’s suggestion] because it takes a certain
amount of courage and boldness
to pursue a career in art and
media and f ilm-making
these days.”
“It is a changing world and a
changing art form and we recognize it takes a courageous step.
It’s one that takes care and a lot
of learning to do well.”
Student organization hosts talk about animal ethics
Calvin graduate brings animal ethics campaign to colleges across the country
Chimes
Calvin College
3201 Burton Street SE
Grand Rapids, MI 49546
chimes@calvin.edu
advertise@calvin.edu
Phone: (616) 526-6578
Chimes is the official student
newspaper of Calvin College.
The mission of Chimes is to
serve the community of Calvin
College in a variety of ways:
we aim to reform, review,
challenge and foster dialogue
within the community.
The official Student
Newspaper of Calvin
College Since 1907
PHOTO COURTESY STUDENTS FOR COMPASSIONATE LIVING
BY ALICIA DEJONG
Guest Writer
Last Friday, a selection of
panelists gathered with students to discuss an uncommon topic among Evangelical
Christians: the importance of
animal ethics.
Ac c o r d i n g t o a s u r ve y
commissioned by the Every
Living Thing Campaign, 89
percent of Evangelical pastors
agree that Christians have the
responsibi lit y to speak out
against animal cruelty. The
campaign seeks to encourage
more action in response to
this belief.
The event, sponsored by
Calvin College’s Students for
Compassionate Living club, specifically discussed Every Living
Thing’s Evangelical Statement
on Responsible Care for Animals.
The statement includes points
such as:
“ We u n d e r s t a n d f r o m
Scripture that God has given
us all animals into our hand
a nd for food a s pa r t of ou r
responsible rule; but as we live
in a fallen world and are prone
to sin, we also have the capacit y and i ncli nation to cause
suffering instead of care for
a n i m a l s a nd to a c t c r u el ly
towards them.”
By “a c t c r u el ly towa rd s
t hem,” t he stateme nt is not
on ly refe r r i ng to t he abu se
of dome s t ic pe t s. It i s a l so
referring to the tight gestation
stalls where mother pigs are forced
to live and give birth to multiple
litters before eventually being
slaughtered, and to the
paper-sized cages crowded by
crazed, eg g-laying hens and
to the dumpsters filled with live,
unwanted male chicks.
.T h e s t a t e m e n t d o e s n o t
explicitly advocate a meat-free
diet: it simply asks Christians to
join in advocating for better treatment of God’s creatures.
“You do not have to be a
vegan (or a vegetarian) to be
a par t of the work that SCL
is doing,” commented senior
Jonathan Manni, co-leader of
St udents for Compassionate
Living. “Everyone is welcome!
I n fac t, we love to hea r t he
perspectives that everyone brings
to the table — herbivores and
omnivores included.”
Manni sat as a panelist at
the discussion alongside Reasa
Currier of the Humane Society
of the United States, Abby Skeans
of t he Clapham G roup, Dr.
Steve McMullen, an economics
professor from Hope College, and
Pastor Treveor Sutton of St. Luke
Lutheran Church.
“It was great to hear from
a spectr um of perspectives,”
com me nted se n ior C a r oly n
Brown. “The conversation was
academic and rational, I really
appreciated that.”
Deanna Geelhoed, senior and
Sustainability Coordinator intern
also attended: “It brought people
of all types together — some who
were very passionate and some
didn’t know much. It was nice
to see new faces gathering to
learn more.”
Currier and Skeans will be
carrying the Every Living Thing
campaign to other colleges and
universities across the country.
Skeans, an alumni of Calvin
College, explained their choice
to bring the campaign to our
campus: “Calvin is a unique
place where students are allowed,
and encouraged, to think deeply
and engage thoughtfully on a
range of issues.”
To learn more about the campaign, or to sign the Evangelical
Statement on Responsible Care
for Animals, visit their website at
www.everylivingthing.com.
On Oc tober 26, St udents
for Compassionate Living will
be hosting another event, this
time featuring Paul Shapiro,
activist and Vice President of
Fa r m A n i ma l Protec t ion at
t he Hu m a ne Soc ie t y of t he
United States.
October 9, 2015
Campus News 3
Calvin hosts an Amazing Race-esque ArtPrize scavenger hunt
BY MARISA HUELE
On-Call Writer
Last Friday evening, beginning at 6:30p.m., over 200 Calvin
st udents gathered in a local
church parking lot to commence
the ver y successf ul ArtPrize
Race.
R e va mp ed t h i s ye a r, t he
A r t Pr ize Race incor porated
the annual public attraction of
ArtPrize as well as a Calvin
sponsored occasion.
W he n i nte r v iewed, Je r r y
Grieser, a member of the Knights
4 Life (K4L) programming team,
expressed his enthusiasm over
the event.
“We were very happy with the
turnout. We are looking to pull
on the little nuances within the
Calvin community to bring students to our events” said Grieser
as he referenced the free Taqueria
San Jose tacos that were present.
Grieser went on to explain the
coordination behind the event.
The two prominent student
organizations worked to find a
successful replacement to the
late “Celebration on the Grand.”
Increasingly, organizations are
collaborating in order to combine
events with the intention to raise
student participation.
K4L and NiteLife explained
that the goal of the event was not
only to connect students to artist
alumni, but also to familiarize
underclassmen with the city of
Grand Rapids.
Beginning on Division Avenue
and wrapping alongside the river,
participants were required to find
eight pieces.
T he f i rst place wi n ners
received $250 and the second
pl a ce w i n ne r s won va r iou s
posters from ArtPrize’s 2015
collection. The winning team
completed the event in only 17
minutes and the second team
in 23.
Undoubtedly, the cash prize for
the first place winner was a great
incentive to go to the event. One
attendee explained
that he was going
to see A r t P r i ze
inevitably, so he
might as well try
for a few hundred
dollars while he
was at it.
Andrew
Kollen, who
participated in the
ra ce, ex p r e ssed
that “it was fun to
work as a team and
navigate through
Grand Rapids, a
city that [we] love
and have come to
call home over the
past four years.”
Not a l l who
attended the
event were feeling competitive,
Grieser explained.
Many students enjoyed the
downtown at their own pace,
stopping for coffee at MadCap
or snapping photos of the food
trucks at Rosa Parks.
PHOTO COURTESY JERRY GRIESER
T he A r t Pr ize R ace lef t
NiteLife, K4L and the student
body feeling enthusiastic and
positive about this year’s event
planning success.
K4L said, “We want to be
really strategic about how we
do events.” The ArtPrize Race
was a hit and NiteLife is already
considering the event for next
year, according to Laura Steele,
event coordinator.
UnLearn Week offers Calvin community help putting aside prejudices, preconceptions
BY AKEYRA THOMPSON
Guest Writer
PHOTO COURTESY CALVIN.EDU
Unlearn week offers plenty
of opportunities to sit in and
listen to a var iet y of speakers. Last Tuesday, about 90
st udents came to the Chapel
Undercroft to attend Michelle
Loyd-Paige’s event titled “Being a
Better Ally.”
Loyd-Paige — the dean of
mu lt i- c u lt u ra l af fai rs a nd a
Calvin alumna herself — explicitly displayed her passion
to unite people and develop an
anti-racist community at Calvin
and beyond.
Loyd-Paige began her speech
with something most people are
familiar with — the golden rule of
treating others the way you would
want to be treated. However, she
proceeded to say that “the platinum rule” is far more important.
In contrast to the golden rule, the
platinum rule emphasizes a keyyet-subtle distinction: that one
should treat others the way they
want to be treated.
“This guy came up to me once
with a big, old turkey in his hands
and I just took it like ‘Aw, thanks,’
student organization spolight:
BY JARED VANOEFFELEN
Guest Writer
The Anime Club is a student-led organization that
seeks to “create a forum for
students interested in the art
form of ‘anime’ as an indicator
of Japanese culture. The club
is also a forum to explore the
social and philosophical issues
of anime story lines,” according to their mission statement.
The Anime Club’s 20 to 30
members meet twice a week,
attend various smaller events,
and participate in two anime conventions, or cons, in
Detroit and Lansing.
Every Monday, the Club
watches three episodes of an
anime until they complete the
series, which usually consist of
around 12 total episodes. On
Wednesdays the club watches
the first few episodes of a series
that fits the genre of the week.
According to club member, first-year student Ashlee
Wycoff, Anime Club “provides
a fun enforcement of friends
f u l l of laug hter a nd love.
I’m glad I was able to join and
have fun with everyone.”
The leadership aims to help
“individuals discover a deeper level of enjoyment and appreciation for Anime and the
surrounding culture, but also
create a college community of
brothers and sisters to share in
their pastime.”
The club offers a diverse range
of activities, which include various games, the occasional trip to
an anime culture-related event,
and participation in anime cons
Cons are three to four day
events in which thousands of
people celebrate the culture of
Anime and other Japanese media.
The celebration often includes
dancing to “kawaii” or cute music, and dressing up as an anime
character in an activity known
as cosplaying.
“We welcome anyone to join us
for our meetings to enjoy anime
with us,” says leadership team
member, Audrey Enters. “We
are a supportive community and
encourage anyone to join us.”
The anime club meets every
Monday and Wednesday at 7pm
in North Hall 168.
but what if I’m a vegan—which
I am,” said Loyd-Paige. “Not
all black people are poor,” she
continued, “a person doesn’t
speak for all the experiences of
their ‘people.’”
She then proceeded to explain
that everyone has both privileges
and disadvantages that make up
their identity, like the color of
their skin, their sexual orientation
or their class.
Time and t ime agai n, t he
privileges we possess are taken
for granted.
“Conversation with self is
hard, but it’s the first step to
becoming a bet ter al l,” said
Loyd-Page.
“You have to hear both sides
of the track,” Loyd-Paige said.
“You need to leave your judgments at the door and share
your v ulnerabilities to walk
aside someone.”
Though our society has come a
long way with racial issues, there
is still a long way to go. If you’re
willing to stand up and make a
difference, it may be awkward.
As Loyd-Paige would say, “If
you’re serious about being a better
ally, you’ve got to fight through
the awkward stage.”
Anime Club
The Anime Club’s booth at Cokes and Clubs this year.
PHOTO COURTESY LIZZ ROTH
“
Villeneuve’s steady hand turns “Sicario” from a commonplace crime film into something more robust.
Daniel Baas “Sicario”
”
a rt s a n d
e n t e rta i n m e n t
4
New virtual reality technology signals bright future for video gaming
I n s te a d , it w i l l b e t he f u l l
body immersion of these
games and the emotional response
con nec ted to ex plor i ng a nd
completing otherwise impossible ac tions t hat wi l l make
this experience a surefire success.
The words “virtual reality”
are synonymous with science
fiction. To many, the idea of being transported to
a computer-simulated environment
in which the senses
are fully immersed
and surroundings
can be physically
interacted wit h
seem s u nach ievable and futuristic.
But if you are one
of those people who
have dreamed of
just such an exper ie nce, you w i l l
only have to wait
another year.
I n 2 016, Sony
a nd K ick sta r terfunded Oculus VR
will be releasing
Project Morpheus
and t he Oc ulus
Rift, respectively.
Both are virtual reality (VR) projects
designed to be used
with video games;
S o n y ’s P r o j e c t
Morpheus will be
compat ible w it h
the PlayStation 4
a nd Oc u lu s R i f t
with PC.
The devices
a r e e s s e n t i a l - Gamers at a convention try out the Oculus Rift.
ly giant goggles that act as a maximize the new technoloOther than the potential emotelevision screen attached to gy. These VR games are shap- tional trauma of cer tain V R
your face that display images ing up to be less grand in scale experiences, some of the bigthat adjust and align with the and offer less to do than other gest challenges facing the sucd i r e c t io n you r he a d t u r n s. games, yet it won’t be how much cess of companies like Project
These headsets block out ex- you c a n do i n t he se g a me s Mor phe u s a nd Oc u lu s R i f t
t e r i o r s o u n d s a n d s i g h t s t h a t a t t r a c t s c u s t o m e r s . have been in designing prod-
success and marketabilit y of
this new gaming technology,
“ T he G u a rd i a n” w r ite r
Keith Stuart said in a conversation he had with Yves Guillemot,
t he CEO of game developer
U bisof t, that he “recognizes
the possibility of this
k i nd of i nst i nc t ive
hardware revulsion, but thinks it’s
like any new
tech nolog ica l advance: the right kind
of experience
w i l l ma ke users of
u s a l l.” G u i l le mot
later says specifically
that, “If we produce
experiences that
are emotional and intense there will be a
m a rke t. It d o e s n’t
mat ter that you
have to wear something on your head;
if it’s good, people
will do it.”
A n d t h a t ’s t h e
biggest draw of
virtual reality
gaming. The fact that
you can exper ience t he t h r i l l of
physica l ly f lyi ng a
spaceship or
t a k i ng cover i n a
warzone as bull e t s w h i s t l e b y,
all in the safety and
comfort of your living
room — that’s what
PHOTO COURTESY WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
will truly make this
experimenting on stabilizing experience special.
these devices to provide the
The future of virtusafest and most comfor table al reality is promising video
g a m i n g e x p e r i e n c e f o r gamers that video games will no
the greatest number of gamers.
longer st r ic t ly be an escape
I n r e s p o n s e t o t h e c o n - f r om r e a l it y b ut a n e s c ap e
cerns raised in regards to the into reality.
“The Martian” inspires and highlights will to survive
“Sicario” addresses issue of drug war
BY NATE HUNT
Arts & Entertainment Editor
t o p r ov id e a o ne - of- a- k i nd
immersive experience.
As demos of the VR headsets at gaming conventions have
shown, games developed to be
experienced in VR will be contained experiences designed to
is who we really want to be with,
from becoming tedious. These
Arts & Entertainment Editor
moments offer a complementary
perspective to Watney’s plight
and ultimately reveal the human
Astronaut Mark Watney sits
impulse to empathize with and
on a jagged rock overlooking a
protect one of its own.
mottled red, orange and brown
The entire cast is bolstered by
landscape that is simultaneously
a fantastic screenplay by Drew
desolate and breathtaking. In
Goddard who simultaneously
his orange space suit, Watney
mixes scientific jargon with a
becomes practically lost against
surprising amount of comedic wit
the landscape as he stares out at
and banter.
the vista of the windswept desert
Aesthetically too, the film imof Mars. It is this moment that
presses. Visual effects flesh out
perfectly captures the contrast
spacecraft down to the minutest
between the loneliness and the
details and aid in turning the
beauty both on display in director
planet Mars into
Ridley Scott’s
a living, breath“The Martian.”
ing character
Scott’s work
in all its danger
has largely unand magnificence.
derwhelmed
“T he Ma r t ia n”
since he directis a strong coned “Gladiator”
tender for t he
in 2000, so it
best space movie
pleases me to
since Kubr ick’s
say that Scott
“20 01: A Space
ha s ret u r ned
Odyssey.” Perhaps
to his science
this is a strange
f ic t ion n iche
comparison conwith all his
sidering that the
confidence and
two f ilms share
ability present.
few similarities
Based on
FILE PHOTO
other than their
the book of the “The Martian” is Ridley Scott’s best film in years.
same name, “The Martian” is and authentic, conveying con- settings, yet it is one that is no
primarily focused on Watney, an stant optimism in the face of truly less true because of Scott’s techniastronaut on Mars who is left for unfortunate circumstances. At cal achievements and the film’s
dead after he becomes separated times, Watney almost breaks un- r e le v a nc e t o c u r r e nt s p a c e
from his crew. With low supplies der stress, and there are moments exploration efforts.
Yes, the f ilm feels predictand a lower chance of rescue, when his loneliness becomes
Watney must rely on his ingenu- oppressive and he experiences able at t i mes; we k now f u l l
ity and background as a botanist frustration and anger at being well that Watney will survive
to grow food on a lifeless planet left behind. Yet somehow he re- and any peril he is in will be
while he waits and hopes for help mains predominantly collected s h o r t - l i v e d . H o w e v e r, t h e
and in control of his emotions n a r r a t i v e ’ s p r e d i c t a b i l i to arrive.
t y does not detract from the
Watching Watney piece to- and actions.
Damon is complemented by a film’s achievements.
gether how he is going to grow
I n s t e a d , “ T h e M a r t i a n”
crops and make water in his huge supporting cast including
team’s artificial habitat is incred- Jessica Chastain, Kate Mara, Jeff transcends any f laws and beibly rewarding, partly because Daniels, Chiwetel Ejiofor and c o m e s t r u l y i n s p i r a t i o n a l ,
we love to root for an underdog a host of other talent. Together, emphasizing that hope and huand partly because the science they prevent the moments on man will are strong enough to
behind the film is so engaging Earth away from Watney, which weather any obstacle.
BY NATE HUNT
and accurate. In fact, NASA
was heavily involved in the film’s
production to answer questions
and to ensure that the science was
authentic. Reportedly, NASA
hopes to use “The Martian” to
promote space travel and future
Mars exploration.
Our stranded hero is expertly
portrayed by Matt Damon, who
gives one of the best performances
of his career. Watney stays sane
by filming daily video logs, which
has the effect of making it look
like he is speaking directly to
us. Through these logs, we see
instantly that Watney is likable
ucts that minimize the body’s
natural response to immersive
experiences, namely feelings
of vertigo, motion sickness and
eyest rai n. W h i le not ever yone will suffer from these ailments, developers have been
BY DANIEL BAAS
Guest Writer
For centuries in Europe,
warfare was carried out in an
organized manner. Both sides
would meet on the field of
battle and when one side had
clearly won, the losing commander would turn his sword
over to the victor.
T he se r u le s of wa r fa r e
changed in North America
when American colonists began utilizing guerilla tactics
against the British invaders.
This began a long and complicated history of warfare in
North America. Since then,
The United States has gone
through a civil war, two world
wars, overseas conflicts and a
war on terror.
But t he war on dr ugs
is different.
For years, the United States
has fought an invisible foe in
an effort to crush the import
of drugs. It is this conf lict
that “Sicario” puts us in the
middle of.
After a raid on a drug trafficker’s house takes a dark
turn, FBI agent Kate Macer
(Emily Blunt) is recruited to
join an interagency task force
by Matt Graver (Josh Brolin).
On the way to an operation,
she meets the mysterious op
advisor, Alejandro (Benicio
del Toro). The two men take
Macer along for what proves
to be a dark journey.
Macer comes from a world
of relatively black and white
morality. She follows protocol and plays by the r ules.
But her new partners work in
shades of gray, something she
struggles with.
By contrast, the film itself is
incredibly vibrant. “Sicario” is
shot by cinematographer Roger
Deakins who is best known for
“No Countr y For Old Men,”
“The Shawshank Redemption”
and “Skyfall,” among many others. His camera shows a great
deal, from the drab, fluorescent
glow of a briefing room, to a
glowing sunset as a silhouetted
ops team descends into hell.
Li ke w i se, d i r ec tor De n i s
Vi l le ne uve does a fa nt a st ic
job of shepherding the f ilm.
Com i ng of f of t he excel lent
“Prisoners” as well as “Enemy,”
V i l l e n e u v e ’s s t e a d y h a n d
turns “Sicario” from a commonplace crime film into something
more robust.
One of the best parts of the
film is del Toro. His Alejandro
s p e a k s c r y p t ic a l l y, le t t i n g
M a ce r k now t h at wh at she
hears will not make sense to
her “American ears” and that
she is not a wolf in what has become a land of wolves. Even as
the world around him changes,
Alejandro does not. Del Toro
ma na ges to g ive one of t he
most powerful performances in
the film.
A not he r powe r f u l piece
of the f ilm is the world that
it is set in. Everything seems
like it has a story. From showing
Graver’s f lip f lops in a meeti n g , t o t h e w ay A le ja n d r o
folds up his sport coat before
an operation, as well as the
10 ga l lon h at-we a r i ng
Te x a s r a n g e r s , c h a r a c ters are given the sense that
they belong and that they have
purpose. It is a subtle thing but
a detail that “Sicario” pulls off
incredibly well.
It is true that the drug war is
complicated. It is not a black and
white conf lict, and “Sicario”
does its best to show this. With
fantastic performances, both
in front of and behind the camera,
“Sicario” is most certainly one of
the best films of 2015.
“
We have a talented team and when we combine that talent with
great effort we could have a very successful season.
Mike Petruma, “Hockey”
”
Hockey off to quick start of the season behind solid team work
PHOTO COURTESY CALVIN MEN’S HOCKEY
Last year hockey finished 22-11-2, finishing third in the AHCA. They are off to a promising start in the 2015-2016 season.
goals against average under two
per game, second is to win the
league title and third is to win the
national championship.
In order to meet their goals
The Calvin men’s hockey team
Duncan says that the Knights
is off to a strong start, winning
need to be consistent and never
their first two games versus Xavier
play to the level of their opUniversity this past Saturday
ponents and instead maintain
and Sunday.
their own high tempo
Junior forward Ryan
every time they step onto
Racanelli is happy with
the ice.
the team’s start: “It was
The hockey team will
great to see what some of
take on Universit y of
our new additions could
Michigan Flint this weekdo for the team.”
end. Petrusma knows the
Fellow junior forward
challenge they will pose
Jordan Duncan shared
on his team and wants
these sentiments: “We
the Knights to remain
showed improvement
focused and execute well
from the first game to
on the defensive side of
the second.”
the puck.
Duncan went on to
Racanelli added
say that it is important
that he looks for ward
to start off hot and fast;
to playing Uof M Flint
both players are excited
for the high competition
to see what the future
level and the opportuholds for their team.
nity to try some of the
Head coach M i ke
things they’ve worked
Petrusma had clear obon in practice. Starting
jectives for his team and
off the season with two
was proud with the rewins has prompted the
sult. “Get off to a great
team to want to continue
start, tactically play bettheir consistency.
ter in the second game
The Knights travel to
than the first and play
PHOTO COURTESY CALVIN SID
Flint on Friday, Oct. 9 for
with effort.” Moving forward, the team’s focus is Head coach Mike Petrusma is in his 19th season at the helm. a 7:30 pm match up.
BY ANNA GERNANT
Staff Writer
to continually get better at every
practice and every game. “We
have a talented team and when
we combine that talent with great
effort we could have a very successful season.”
According to the team, they
have three specific goals for their
season. First is to keep their
Paid college athletes ruling overturned
BY MARK PELESS
Sports Editor
Two weeks ago, a federal appeals court overturned a ruling
that would have resulted in college athletes getting paid.
T he debate ove r whe t he r
college athletes should be paid
has been going on for many
years, especially when it concerns high prof iting football
and basketball programs across
the country.
Headlined by former UCLA
basketball player Ed O’Bannon
and Northwestern University
Football Players, those for paid
college athletes have made their
position clear: the athletes generate revenue for the NCA A
and they should receive their
due benefits.
On the other side of the argument, colleges and universities
argue that the athletes are, above
all else, students, and as studentathletes are viewed as amateurs.
Rece nt ly, M ich iga n football head coach Jim Harbaugh
weighed in on the subject, per the
Detroit Free Press.
“The one thing they probably
need to look at is, if they are paid
something and they become
employees, there would be a real
chance that they would be taxed
— that their scholarship would
be taxed as a taxable benefit,”
Harbaugh said in Tuesday’s Big
Ten conference call.
Players given a full scholarship
are awarded $65,000 to cover
tuition, room, board, books and
fees. If they were to be labeled as
employees of their respective uni-
versities they would, as Harbaugh
went on to note, be taxed for their
gross income.
“I don’t know if they’ve really
looked at that and wondered if
they might not be better off in a
situation that they have [now],”
Harbaugh continued. “That’s my
question. The youngsters might
be in a worse position if they’re
paid something, some amount of
money, and they become employees of the university.”
The ninth U.S. Circuit Court
of Appeals did uphold a part of
the earlier ruling, however. The
ruling allows NCAA member
schools to include the full cost
of attendance in scholarships
and not just the aforementioned
t uition, room, board, book s
and fees.
The greatest argument proposed by proponents of paid athletes is that they deserve revenue
the NCAA generates from using
their likenesses in jersey sales
and video games. The plaintiffs
claimed that antitrust law supports their position.
The court wrote that “The
Rule of Reason requires that the
NCAA permit its schools to provide up to the cost of attendance
to their student athletes. It does
not require more.”
Michael Carrier, a law professor at Rutgers Universit y,
explained that the recent rulings
can provide relief for both sides.
The subject of NCAA athletes
getting paid was highlighted in
the 2013 ESPN documentary
“Schooled: The Price of College
Sports” and is sure to continue to
be prominent.
5
s p o rt s
ATHLETE HIGHLIGHTS
PHOTOS COURTESY
CALVIN SPORTS INFORMATION
Ben VanScoyk
Sophomore
Men’s Golf - Ben VanScoyk
helped lead the men’s golf team
to a second place finish in conference. He earnedfirst-team
all-MIAA honors and finished
first overall in the individual
conference standings, averaging 73.3 strokes-per-round.
This past Tuesday he finished
second overall individually
with a round total of 71 in the
eighth MIAA Jamboree of the
year.
Game of the Week
Women’s volleyball vs.
St. Mary’s
Friday, October 9
Van Noord Arena
E DITOR’ S N F L PIC K S
(9-5 L AST WEEK):
WEEK 5
Bears (1-3) 13 at Chiefs (1-3) 10
Seahawks (2-2) 17 at Bengals (4-0) 23
Redskins (2-2) 9 at Falcons (4-0) 35
Jaguars (1-3) 21 at Buccaneers (1-3) 15
Saints 28 (1-3) at Eagles (1-3) 21
Browns (1-3) 12 at Ravens (1-3) 17
Rams (2-2) 7 at Packers (4-0) 28
Bills (2-2) 24 at Titans (1-2) 18
Patriots (3-0) 27 at Cowboys (2-2) 10
Cardinals (3-1) 23 at Lions (0-4) 21
49ers (1-3) 13 at Giants (2-2) 18
Steelers (2-2) 17 at Chargers (2-2) 26
Upset of the Week
Broncos (4-0) 22 at Raiders (2-2) 25
Week 4 Notes:
Falcons RB Devonta Freeman continues torid pace
with 6 TDs in last two games. Buccs quarterback
Jameis Winston continues to struggle. After a controversial Detroit Lions loss on Monday Night Football
due to poor refereeing, the league will reevaluate
replay system.
NBA season preview: questions and answers
BY DANIEL BAAS
Guest Writer
With the NBA season fast
approaching, there are many
questions that still need to
be answered. Here are a few
of them.
After reloading this summer,
will the Spurs be able to make a
championship run?
After one of the most successful offseasons in recent
years, the Spurs look primed to
make another run at the NBA
championship. They re-signed
reigning Defensive Player of
the Year Kawhi Leonard and
sharpshooter Danny Green to
shore up their wing positions,
as well as signing top free agent
forward LaMarcus Aldridge.
With a seemingly ageless Tim
Duncan, the Spurs have a good
chance to be great this season.
Unfortunately they have no
real center on the roster aside
from Duncan, so frontcourt
size and depth could be an
issue. Despite this, with one
of the best coaches of all time
at the helm and three future
hall of famers on the roster,
the Spurs could very well find
themselves in contention for
their second championship in
three years.
Will the Clippers’ offseason
moves pay off?
Last season the Clippers
s t at i s t ic a l ly h a d t he be s t
starting lineup in the NBA.
Unfortunately, beyond their
top six players, the rotation
was problematic. When Austin
Rivers is playing major rotation
minutes while averaging seven
points per game, you know
there is a problem. Fortunately,
the Clippers were able to avoid
disaster and re-signed center
DeAndre Jordan. They were
also able to seriously upgrade
their bench. The overhauled
second unit is now made up of
Rivers, Jamal Crawford, Lance
Stephenson and Josh Smith, an
eclectic group of players who all
need to have the ball to contribute. It will be interesting to see
how this group gels and if Los
Angeles is able to make it to the
Western Conference Finals or
beyond this season.
Can the Warriors repeat?
After one of the best seasons
in NBA history, the Warriors look
to repeat as champions. In the
offseason, GM Bob Meyers was
able to re-sign forward Draymond
Green to a lucrative deal, as
well as trade rarely-used former
All-Star forward David Lee to
the Celtics in a salary dump.
As a result of the trade, Meyers
w a s a ble t o p ic k u p Ja s o n
Thompson for an additional
center to go with Andrew Bogut
and Festus Ezili. By retaining the
core of their roster, the Warriors
look to be in great position to take
their place in the NBA Finals
once again.
Will the Miami Heat be contenders
in the East?
W he n L eBr on Ja me s lef t
Miami, the general public and
media were skeptical of Miami’s
chances to compete in the weaker
Eastern Conference. With the
emergence of Hassan Whiteside
and the midseason acquisition of
point guard Goran Dragic, the
Heat had a good chance to make
the playoffs, even after Chris
Bosh went down for the season
with blood clots. After adding
a great deal of depth, especially
in the frontcourt, Miami seems
poised to be a real contender and
a possible top three seed in the
Eastern Conference.
Does Ty Lawson put Houston over
the top?
The Rockets were the two seed
in the West and made it to the
Western Conference Finals last
season. Now they have another
ball handler and creator to pair
in the backcour t with James
Harden. Lawson has a chance to
lead a great second unit and put
the Rockets in a good position.
6
F E AT U R E S
Grassroots
BY HANNAH FERTICH
Features Editor
What is the Grassroots
floor? Grassroots (formally
known as the Mosaic floor)
was started in 1996 and
originally made up the second floors of KalsbeekHuizenga. It was created
to promote diversity in an
intentional community. In
light of UnLearn week it
seems fitting to emphasize a
floor that maintains the ideals of UnLearn week during
the entire year. According
to the Calvin website the
Grassroots floor engages in:
Fostering genuine community where Christ’s love
and compassion is shown
toward one another in all
aspects of life, whether in
the classroom or everyday
living on the floor.
Developing awareness
of issues related to race
and racism in the North
American context , particularly in the areas of history, culture, economics
and politics.
Developing awareness
and maturity in regards to
our own racial identity and
cultural awareness.
Improving communication
skills and intercultural skills
to build relational bridges
and resolve conflict.
When asked to define
this floor, sophomore Kimo
Cox said:
“2nd vR [van Reken] is
like a home. It’s like a
big family where people
are open and not afraid
to say what’s on their
minds in a respectful and
loving manner.”
Resident assistant (RA)
Kurt Delos Trino elaborated
on this by saying “It’s a community that invests and engages in racial reconciliation
through conversation, fellowship and learning in a class.”
Delos Trino explained it is a
goal of members of 2nd vR
to “be able to reach out to
those who don’t know about
racial reconciliation and
[improve in] teaching those
people to learn and continue
to engage in [anti-racism].”
Calvin has set very specific
learning outcomes for this
floor. Calvin’s website states
that students who live on the
Grassroots floor are expected to be able to “think, work,
and move across boundaries — in diverse environments with a range of people,
use skills and techniques
learned on the floor in conflict resolution, improve antiracism and anti-bias pract
ices, develop and use communication skills and intercultural communication
skills, link theory and practice
through their own experience both as citizens and in
professions, and seek out
multiple perspectives — inside perspectives as well as
outside ones.”
James Owens, a first year
resident on the Grassroots
f l o o r, e x p l a i n s t h a t
despite “just being a small
community right now,” his
hope is that “over the years
it will grow to engage the
entire college in similar
conversations of racial diversit y in America .” He
believes it is vital that this
cross-campus invitation to
think more critically about
issues of discrimination
becomes a year-long process, not confined to one
week’s programming.
Owens, like many others on his floor, wants to
see a change in the way the
rest of Calvin students view
their role on campus:
“I want to invite people
into this community and
[for them] to comfortably participate in conversations and then also
prompt them to participate in conversations
they aren’t as
comfortable with.”
Delos Trino reiterates
this with his hope that “people know that [Grassroots]
we l co m e s eve r y s i n g l e
person here and that this
floor isn’t just for AHANA
(Asian, Hispanic/L atino,
African, and Native American)
s t u d e n t s . We w a n t t o
teach people about grassroots, about anti-racism,
and racial reconciliation.
Come a nd h ave a con versation about our
purpose here.”
PHOTO CREDIT: KALSBEEK-HUIZENGA-VAN REKEN FACEBOOK PAGE
Grassroots floor residents Bastian Bouman and Kayla McLean.
“
English is not my first language; art is.
”
Awareness walk fights stigma
LO C A L A N D WO R L D
Rose Ellis “ArtPrize”
BY SOPHIE VANSICKLE
Local Editor
With National Day Without
S t i g m a h av i n g j u s t p a s s e d
on Oct. 5 and World Mental
Health Day ahead on Oct. 10,
this seems the perfect time to
reflect on the Out of the Darkness
Walk that occurred this past
Saturday in Grand Rapids for
suicide awareness.
O n Oc t. 3, m a ny fa m ilies, g roups and i ndiv iduals
gathered at Millennium Park to
partake in the Out of the Darkness
Walk, an event sponsored by
the American Foundation for
Suicide Prevention (AFSP). The
walk was meant to raise money
and awareness for suicide and
depression, and also be a comfort
for those who have lost a loved
one to suicide.
“ I t ’s c a l l e d ‘ O u t o f t h e
Darkness’ because they want
to t r y to b r i n g p e o ple who
are depressed out of that darkness and out of feeling stigmatized and get the conversation
going,” said Jessica Somerville,
Calvin College’s Active Minds
president, who at tended t he
event along 14 ot her Calvin
st udents. Ac t ive M i nds is a
large national organization dedicated to raising awareness and
reduc i ng s t ig m a for me nt a l
i l l ness, a nd Ca lv i n’s pa r t is
just a small chapter of
the larger organization, which has
individual chapters throughout Michigan, such as Wayne
State and Michigan State universities, and all over the country.
The goal of Calvin College’s
Ac tive Minds g roup was
to raise $70 for the organization, and they ended up raising
$275, far above their original
goal. All the money that was
raised by these students and the
remainder of t he Out of t he
Darkness Walk participants will
go toward AFSP’s vital research
and education programs intended
to prevent suicide and save lives.
At the Out of the Darkness
Walk, many families were walk-
ing for family or friends that
they’d lost to suicide, and before
the walk itself, a few people
gave testimonies.
One new organization
talked about how their staff helps
vetera ns who a re dea l i ng
with mental illness get treatment,
which is a big deal considering
that, according to sources such
a s C N N a nd La Ti mes, t he
number of veteran suicides averages 22 each day.
National and World News
New California law to cut pay gap
(BBC) “A new law in California forces companies to prove higher
salaries paid to men are based on factors other than gender. On
Tuesday, California Governor Jerry Brown signed into law ‘Fair
Pay Act, expanding wage discrimination laws in the state.”
New species found in Himalayas
(CNN) “Most people hate rainy weather. It can put a damper on
plans and keep you cooped up indoors. But spare a thought for the
Burmese snub-nosed monkey. The furry fellow often spends rainy
days with its head down between its knees because otherwise the
water runs into its upturned nose and makes it sneeze.”
El Faro search ends at sunset
(CNN) “The U.S. Coast Guard plans to call of its search for
the missing mariners of the El Faro at sunset Wednesday after six
days of searching yileded only debris, Capt. Mark Fedor said. “Any
decision to end a search is painful,” he said, adding of the El Faro
crew, “We’ve been baptized in the same salt waters.””
White House turns to crowdfunding
campaign for Syrian refugee crisis
(Al Jazeera English) “The Obama administration launched
its first ever crowdfunding campaign this week to raise money for Syria’s growing ref ugee crisis, in a bid to draw the
American public into supplementing the U.N. refugee agency’s
strained budget.”
PHOTO COURTESY ACTIVE MINDS
At t he begi n n i ng of t he
walk, participants were given a
rock to carry, which symbolized the
burdens that we all carry and the
heaviness in our hearts for ones
we have lost to suicide.
Throughout the walk, they
carried the rock, and the end of
the walk led the participants to
a lake. All the Out of the Darkness
Wa l k pa r t ic ipa nt s s to o d at
t he l a ke w it h t he i r r o c k i n
hand, and threw them in
the water.
“You t h r e w you r r oc k to
release your burden, and then
you were given a feather that
symbolizes how you’re lifted and
you feel free,” said Somerville. “It
was a really cool symbolic thing.”
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ArtPrize takes over the heart of the city
BY SARAPHINA SEFCIK
Guest Writer
Look i ng for advent ure?
L ook i n g for a mu se me nt?
Looking for art? Think that
you have to go far to reach
these goals? Well, think again.
All you have to do is travel
six miles from Calvin into
t he hear t of dow ntow n to
reach ArtPrize.
ArtPrize is an annual art cometition located in downtown
Grand Rapids. This year’s
program started on Sept. 23
and r uns through Oct. 11.
Each year, artists travel from all
over the world in hopes of sharing
their story with others. This year,
48 countries and 42 states are
represented in over 1,500 pieces
of artwork.
Artwork is displayed throughout 162 venues, such as the Grand
Rapids Art Museaum (GRAM).
GRAM showcases photographs,
sculptures and videos. The piece
“As Above” by Judith Braun is
displayed here. This piece, made
up of charcoal fingerprints, is
now a 2-D finalist. . Other popular venues include The B.O.B.,
Kend a l l Col lege of A r t a nd
Design and the Harris Building.
Every artist has a unique reason for displaying his or her art.
Rose Ellis, a Michigan artist,
said, “English is not my first language; art is.”Art is her life and
she wants to share that inspiration
with others. Her ArtPrize entry,
“Double Bubble.” can be seen in
the Apothecary off Main.
ArtPrize brings together people
of all backgrounds to share in a com
mon interest. ArtPrize gives the
opportunity to talk to artists and
be inspired by their works all
while exploring the city.
“I love all the people it brings
downtown and seeing the city
alive. I love seeing buildings you
wouldn’t normally see. ArtPrize
is a good place to get lost along the
way,” said Lisa Town, a resident
of West Michigan.
At the end of ArtPrize, awards
are given. The art is judged by
two groups: the public and a jury.
There are five categories to be
voted on in each group. The grand
prize is worth $200,000. The
2-D Public Vote Award and the
3-D Public Vote Award are both
valued at $12,500. The last two
awards are the Time-based Public
Vote Award and the Installation
Award, both also worth $12,500.
Voting happens in two rounds.
Round one consists of voting for
a piece to be in the top 20. The
winners are then voted for from
the top 20.
“I think ArtPrize is a wonderful opportunity for people like me
who are not permanent residents
of Grand Rapids, to experience
the beauty of the city expressed
through the various pieces of
a r t,” sa id f i rst-yea r st ude nt
Nicole Chavez.
A r t Pr i ze does not have a
specific location to start at. You
can start at any venue that interests you and then visit the others
around it. Or you can start at the
Hub, located on 41 Sheldon Blvd.
SE. The Hub has maps of the venue locations and dining locations
as well as maps of downtown.
Stop by Friday or Saturday from
11 a.m. to 8 p.m. or Sunday from
11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
More information about the
artists, artwork, venues and other
general information is located
online at artprize.org. ArtPrize
will conclude this Sunday.
8
science and
tec h n o logy
“
Mars, when it is closest to Earth, is only around 35 million miles
away — really just a hop, a skip and a jump, cosmically speaking.
Bethany Cok, “Liquid water on Mars”
”
NASA reports liquid water on modern-day Mars
PHOTO BY NASA/JPL/UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA
The downhill-flowing streaks on the left side of this image (a false-color display of a Digital
Terrain Model) are cited as evidence of flowing water on The Red Planet.
Findings released this week
The Mars Reconnaissance
BY BETHANY COK
have brought us one step clos- Orbiter (MRO), launched in 2005,
On-Call Writer
er to discovering whether life has spent the last 10 years orbiting
could exist, not just in galaxies Mars in a search for evidence of
Humans have long pondered f a r aw ay, b u t o n a p l a n e t water that may have been historithe potential for life on other t h at i s ou r ne ig hbor i n t he cally present on the planet. As the
planets in the universe. Up until solar system.
key ingredient for the presence of
recently, however, we have not
New evidence points to the life, any discovery of water would
had the technology or research presence of liquid, inter mit- suggest that life could be possible
capabilities to deeply investigate tently-flowing water on present on Mars.
beyond our planet in our quest for day Mars, NASA announced
Dark, narrow streaks have
an answer.
on Monday.
been observed before on the sur-
face of the planet, and scientists
at first had no real, evidenceconfirmed ideas as to what was
creating them.
Using an imaging spectrometer on the MRO to closely analyze
these streaks, researchers recently
found traces of hydrated minerals called perchlorates, which
strongly supports the hypothesis
that there is water that ebbs and
flows on Mars in the present day.
This water is likely a shallow
f low beneath the surface, with
just enough liquid rising to the
surface of the planet to either
create the dark streaks or to instigate another process that forms
them, according to NASA. These
streaks appear to change seasonally, darkening and flowing during warm seasons and receding
during cooler seasons.
The discover y of water on
Mars is particularly relevant
because Mars, when it is closest to Earth, is only around 35
million miles away — really
just a hop, a skip and a jump,
cosmically speaking.
Not only that, but there are
plans underway for several missions to send humans to the
Red Planet within the next 10 to
20 years.
NASA is developing the ca-
Transparent solar technology developed
Solar film-coated glass, should all
go according to plan, will be imSci-Tech Editor
possible to distinguish from regular windows and phone screens.
“Ideally,” Barr told National
An idea that has been over
Geographic, “it doesn’t look
twenty years in the making could
like anything.”
soon be hitting glass markets
The material itself is manueverywhere. Transparent films
factured thanks to research in
developed by Ubiquitous Energy
organic chemistry that has been
capture solar power, and
ongoing since the 1990’s.
could soon be mounted on
Accordi ng to Lavel le,
everything from windows
much of this has been foto cellphone screens, crecused on designing strucating see-through solar
tures on the molecular levcells.
el capable of carrying an
While the sun is indiselectric charge.
putably the source with
Accordi ng to Ni kos
the greatest advancement
Kopidakis, a senior repotential in renewable ensearch scientist at t he
ergy schemes, solar cells
Nat iona l Re newable
are currently hovering
Energ y Laborator y i n
at about 20 percent effiGolden, Colorado, the
ciency. While transparent
organic solar films will recells would be less effiquire much less energy to
cient, they offer a flexibilcreate than the traditional
ity that more than makes
panels do, particularly
up for the shortfall: they
once a manufac t ur ing
can be mounted practisystem comes into play.
cally anywhere.
The traditional silicon
“It’s a whole new way
BY THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
panels
require high temof thinking about solar Research inPHOTO
the field of transparent solar has
peratures to produce. In
e ne rg y, b e c au se now
contrast, transparent films
you have a lot of poten- been onging for over 20 years.
The company is starting small can be produced and applied at
tial surface area” Miles Barr,
chief executive and co-found- — focusing on extending bat- room temperature.
But Shayle Kann, senior vice
er of U biquitous Energy told tery life in small devices such as
National Geographic. “You can smartphones and watches, ac- president of GreenTech Media
let your imagination run wild. cording to National Geographic’s (GTM) Research market firm,
We see this eventually going Marianne Lavelle. Barr estimates suggested that there will still be
that the solar coating will not financial hurdles for Ubiquitous
virtually everywhere.”
Ba r r bel ie ve s U biq u itou s drastically influence the cost of Energy to overcome. Their prodEnergy will be able to achieve 10 mobile devices when it becomes uct is entering a market (small
though it is) that is already domipercent efficiency in its transpar- commercially available.
The potential market is a sig- nated by a more efficient panel.
ent solar cells. It’s quite a feat,
considering that these cells can nificant one: “There are millions The allure of transparency is foronly absorb light (and the associ- and millions of square meters of midable though; with “millions
ated energy) from the invisible glass surfaces around us,” Barr and millions of square meters”
ends of the color spectrum, in reported to National Geographic. of potential surfaces out there,
order to appear transparent to Every one of them is a potential the market could become very
the human eye. The cells cap- site for transparent solar films. large indeed.
BY NATASHA STRYDHORST
ture energy on the infrared and
ultraviolet ends of the continuum
— beyond the visible colors of
red on the one end and violet on
the other.
This strategy is where the loss
of efficiency comes in: when only
the invisible light is captured, all
the visible wavelengths must be
allowed to pass through.
M
pabilities necessary to send researchers to Mars by the 2030s,
according to its website.
Mars One, a not for prof it
foundation, hopes to put crews of
hardy explorers on Mars to begin
a human settlement by 2026. This
mission bills itself as “a global
initiative aiming to make this
everyone’s mission to Mars,” and
is run by a team of international
members, including people from
the Netherlands, Canada and the
United States, according to the
Mars One website.
Perhaps sending humans to
Mars will prove to be more complicated than researchers currently think. But if and when
they arrive, we now know that
they might even be greeted by a
familiar substance, water, though
admittedly in a much brinier form
than water found on earth.
Nevertheless, our neighboring Red Planet still holds many
mysteries, some of which researchers are continuing to unravel and others which will likely
remain unsolved.
The big mystery, the question of
whether life could exist on Mars,
remains. But the discovery of the
presence of water is a significant
factor that allows us to leave that
possibility open.
A L S P OT LI G
R
E
H
IN
by Daniel Blakemore
When people learn that I
study geology, they always ask
me what my favorite rock is.
Although my answer can vary,
I often say opal, as it is one of
the most stunning rocks ever to
be found on Earth. Since opal
is the birthstone of October, I
thought it would be appropriate to discuss this week.
Often the terms “rocks”
and “minerals” are used interchangeably to mean anything hard that is found in
the ground. But in geology,
the distinction between a rock
and a mineral is important to
understand. A mineral is a
naturally occurring, inorganic
solid with a set chemical composition and definite internal
crystal structure. A rock is
simply a consolidated mixture
of minerals. With this definition, we cannot classify opal as
a mineral because it lacks an
internal crystal structure. (It is
therefore described as amorphous). Because it otherwise
resembles a mineral, geologists
classify opal as a “mineraloid.”
T
Precious opals are some of the
most sought-after rocks in the
entire world.
Opal is made of SiO2,
which is the same compound
as the mineral quartz, but opal
also contains water molecules.
The brilliant flashes of color
displayed in opal are due to
diffraction of light through
the silica. Opals without these
fires are known as common
opal. There are many varieties of opal, which are named
depending on their color or
location. Sometimes opal replaces organic material in
creatures when they die and
are preserved, resulting in
spectacularly colored fossils.
Opal is a relatively sensitive
gemstone, as fractures can
form from too much exposure to sunlight or being dried
too quickly.
You can see incredible examples of opal in the Dice
Mineralogical Museum, open
1:30 to 5 p.m. every Monday,
Wednesday and Friday in
North Hall!
PHOTO BY JJ HARRISON (CC-BY-SA-2.5
XKCD COURTESY RANDALL MUNROE
Opal, the birthstone for the month of October, is among
the most prized rocks in the world.
“
Because you’re a Christian you’re going to see God in just about
one second.
Oregon shooter, “Gunman”
9
”
RELIGION
Questions rise with Pope Francis/Kim Davis meeting
BY ECKHART CHAN
Religion Editor
Two weeks ago, Pope Francis
traveled through Washington
D.C ., N e w Yo r k C i t y a n d
Philadelphia in a historic visit
to the United States. Francis
made many stops during his trip,
including giving a speech before
Congress, conducting a mass at
Madison Square Garden and
visiting the Independence Mall.
However, one of the pope’s stops
did not become public until after
he had returned to Rome. The
Vatican has officially confirmed
t hat on T hursday af ter noon
Francis had a private meeting
with Kim Davis.
Davis has been at the center
of a national controversy after
having ref used to issue marriage licenses to gay couples.
Elected as a clerk in Rowan
County, Ky., Davis defended her
stance that it was her religious
freedom as a Christian to deny
marriage licenses to gay couples.
The issue escalated further when
Davis was charged with contempt of court and jailed for five
days after ignoring the federal
court order to issue marriage licenses to homosexual couples.
Given the Vatican’s secretiveness
of the meeting and the details of
what occurred suspicions have
risen since news of the meeting
between Francis and Davis broke.
Many have taken this move by the
pope to be a gesture of support in
favor of Davis.
In a statement released by
Davis’ attorney, the pope said
to Dav i s a nd he r hu sba nd ,
“ T h a n k you for you r cou ra ge” a nd t o “s t ay s t r o n g.”
The pope is then said to have
prayed for the couple and given
them two rosaries that he had
blessed. According to Staver, the
meeting between the pope and
Davis had been discussed on
Sept. 14, a week before Francis’
arrival in the United States.
Staver also clarified that this
was not an accidental meeting,
but that the Davis family even
took photos with the pope during
their exchange.
As Davis describes the encounter, “I put my hand out and he
reached and he grabbed it, and I
hugged him and he hugged me.
... I had tears coming out of my
eyes. ... I’m just a nobody, so it
was really humbling to think he
would want to meet or know me.”
However, the Vatican has recently released a statement to
clarify the details of the meeting.
Vatican spokesman Rev. Federico
Demons, Dualism, and Descartes
Professor Gregory Smith suggests new insight on Paul
BY ECKHART CHAN
Religion Editor
On September 30th, last
Wednesday, the Calvin classics
and philosophy departments hosted Gregory A. Smith for a lecture
on substance dualism. Smith, a
professor of history from Central
Michigan University, offered to
shed new light on Descartes’s
argument for the mind-body duality. There are many different
types of mind-body dualisms in
the philosophy of mind, and one
of the most well known forms of
dualism is Cartesian or substance
dualism. Named after the French
philosopher René Descartes,
Cartesian dualism draws a sharp
distinction between the body
as material, and the mind as an
immaterial and thinking thing.
This concept of our minds or
souls existing as immaterial, rational entities separate from our
physical bodies is often taken for
granted. However, much of this
thinking should be attributed to
Descartes who is often known
best for the famous line “I think,
therefore I am.”
Citing from Plato and Aristotle,
to Apostle John and Paul, to Saint
Augustine, Smith covered a wide
perspective of historical thought
on the relationship between the
mind and body. Arguing that the
model in antiquity for conceptions of the mind was predicated
on a materialist view centered on
the body, Smith emphasized that
this understanding was accepted
as the public consensus similarly
to how Newton’s three laws of
motion are assumed in the modern world.
In Greek the word pneuma is
the same as the word spiritus in
Latin, both are often used to convey “spirit.” In the Bible, pneuma
is often associated with the Holy
Spirit; hence the study of the Holy
Spirit is pneumatology.
However, Smith wanted to
understand this “pneumatic”
way of thinking as it was in antiquity. Rather than confining
understandings of soul and spirit
to a strict Christian correlation
with the Holy Spirit, Smith suggested that pneumatic thinking
was def ined more broadly in
terms of wind, air, and aether.
For example, Paulinus of Nola,
in an excerpt from the Carmina
describes spirits with language
that connotates breath, wind, and
air. The Holy Spirit is similarly
described in John 3:8 as a windlike presence that “bloweth where
it listeth.”
Smith argued that pneumatic
characterizations in physical elements such as wind and air helped
to suggest that ancient conceptions
of immateriality were rooted on a
material continuum.
In this sense, immateriality is understood in a material
sense. Using air as an example, Smith reasons that while
it is invisible it is still material.
Continuing to draw upon the
imagery of invisibility, Smith
illustrated that people in antiquity would have still conceptualized of invisibility as a material,
possibly cloak-like, substance.
Smith also demonstrated the
dominance of this pneumatic thinking by highlighting a
number of texts from antiquity that conveyed this theme of
material immaterialism.
I n A r istophanes’ comedy,
Clouds, Socrates speaks of the
mind as being made of the same
“stuff” as the divine. Smith then
pointed a few hundred years
later to Cicero in his Tusculan
Disputations for an explicit characterization of a pneumatic account of the soul and the cosmos.
For Cicero, the soul and the
cosmos are deeply interconnected
in a material way. Finally, Smith
looked to Apostle Paul for traces
of pneumatic thinking in his
first epistle to the Corinthians.
Paul and his influence from Stoic
philosophy similarly characterizes things with material “stuffs,”
and uses this understanding in
his explanation of resurrection
bodies. Citing 1 Corinthians
15:39-49, Smith suggested that
Paul may have been drawing a
pneumatic connection between
resu r rec t ion bodies a nd t he
celestial stars.
Lombardi said that Francis actually met with several dozen people while at the Vatican’s embassy
and “the pope did not enter into
the details of the situation of Mrs.
Davis and his meeting with her
should not be considered a form
of support of her position in all
of its particular and complex aspects.” Chicago Archbishop Blasé
Cupich also added that “meeting
with someone is not an endorsement of that person’s position.”
Further news on this story has
been revealed in the past week,
with the Vatican releasing to the
press that Francis actually had a
private meeting with one other
person, Yayo Grassi, identified
as a former student of Francis.
Grassi, a gay man in Washington,
brought his partner to meet with
the pope.
Grassi said that he has known
Francis since the 1960s when he
studied literature and psychology
under Francis at a Jesuit high
school in Argentina.
This news comes off the tails
of reports that a Polish priest
is being stripped of his duties
after his announcement as a homosexual. Monsignor Krysztof
Olaf worked with the Vatican’s
doctrinal arm and held a press
conference in Rome with his
partner, advocating that Francis
PHOTO COURTESY FLICKR USER JARED POLIN
Pope Francis touring Washington D.C. in his “popemobile.”
issue reforms within the church
on the Catholic doctrine on homosexuality. Olaf’s press release
was intended to be done just before the Synod of Bishops so that
the issue would reach the table.
This three week assembly of
bishops that serve around the
world is focused on addressing
issues pertinent to Catholic families. However, the Vatican spokesman, Father Federico Lombardi,
released the following statement
that “The decision to make such
a pointed statement on the eve of
the opening of the Synod appears
very serious and irresponsible,
since it aims to subject the Synod
assembly to undue media pressure. ... Monsignor Charamsa
will certainly be unable to continue to carry out his previous
work in the Congregation for
the Doctrine of the faith and the
Pontifical universities, while the
other aspects of his situation shall
remain the [responsibility] of his
diocesan Ordinary.”
Gunman targets Christians at school shooting
Christians stand up on social media after shooting at Umpqua Community College
BY ECKHART CHAN
Religion Editor
Last Thursday, a gunman at
Umpqua Community College
in Oregon opened fire within
the school, killing nine people
and wounding seven others.
A total of 13 weapons were
retrieved from the shooter, six
being at the school and another
seven at the killer’s house.
The suspect was heavily
equipped with body armor,
three pistols and a rifle when
he was f i na l ly shot dow n
by officers.
Stac y Boylan, whose
daughter was wounded but
survived the shootings, told
re por ters t hat h is d aug h-
ter described the g unman as
having asked students their religion before shooting them.
She said that the gunman asked,
“Are you a Christian? And if you
are a Christian stand up.”
Boylan also repor ted t hat
t he g unman was heard to
have said, “because you’re a
Christian you’re going to see
God in just about one second.”
Kortney Moore, an 18-year-old
st udent who was on campus
and witnessed the shootings,
similarly reported that the shooter
inquired into students’ religions
before opening fire. Moore added
that she was in the same classroom laying on the floor beside
other students that had been
shot, including the teacher who
was killed.
Ne ws of t h i s de t a i l f r om
the shooting sparked a social
media movement in suppor t
of Christians.
T h e h a s h t a g “ Ye s I m
AChristian” popped up throughout Twitter posts and prof ile
pict ures to honor those who
d i e d a n d we r e t a r g e t e d i n
the shootings.
Presidential candidate Ben
Carson also joined in, posting
a picture of him holding a sign
that read in bold caps, “I AM
A CHRISTIAN.”
The photo of Carson has received over 800,000 likes and
was shared over 100,000 times.
Carson also encouraged others to
change their profile pictures to an
image with the slogan as a sign of
support and encouragement.
10
ET CETER A
Campus Safety Report
A campus safety employee observed a subject who is currently on the
college’s no-trespassing list. Contact was made with the subject, who denied
knowing they were banned from campus. The subject was verbally instructed and presented with the letter stating they were not allowed on campus.
The subject left campus at that point.
Reported 10/3/2015
The campus safety department took a stolen bike report from the Theta/
Epsilon bike rack at the west end of the upper Knollcrest East parking area.
The bike had been locked to the rack. Unknown persons smashed the lock
and took the bicycle, a green Specialized Sirrus L. The bicycle had been
registered with campus safety.
Reported 10/4/2015
from the pages of
Mirage
Faith Van Alten (1981)
to M.G.
Now the sparkle is in the sand
where earlier we wished out at the dark water,
between the sailboats, glistening.
Here too among the sailboats, the lake slips away,
this time in our wake
much as its clear edge slipped back off the beach.
And still, there is a glistening of dark water
Though it is farther out than we first imagined,
much farther.
Submissions are open at calvin.edu/dialogue.
The fall deadline is October 26.
The opinions expressed in articles on this page are the opinions of the authors and do not
necessarily represent the opinions of Chimes, Calvin College or the Christian Reformed Church.
opinion and
e d i to r i a l
Beyond the horizon: from Indonesia to Grand Rapids
BY FE SETIADI
Guest Writer
W hen I was in Indonesia,
every holiday (we don’t have
summer and winter holidays,
since every day is summer), I
went to the beach. While sitting
under the palm trees and enjoying the cool breeze, I looked at
the horizon and wondered what
life was like on the other side of
the world. When I decided to
leave Indonesia to attend Calvin
College in Grand Rapids, Mich.,
people around me gave different
responses. “Isn’t it too far? Your
mother will be worried sick about
you,” my g randmother said.
“Michigan? Don’t get frostbite.
It’s terribly painful,” said my
uncle who lives in Minnesota.
“Be careful when you’re in the
United States. My friend went
there for college and he changed.
He likes to go to parties now,”
said my h ig h school f r iend.
Indeed, all of the stereotypes
that I knew about the United
States and the fact that I would
go by myself made me worried. “I
believe that God’s love for you is
g reater t han my love for
you,” my father told me, and so
I went.
After living in Grand Rapids
for a year, I realized that coming here was not a bad idea. I
have had many valuable experiences that I never could have
imagined during my holidays on
the beach, such as experiencing
the Michigan weather and also
meeting people from different
cultures and ethnicities. A number of Americans I met said that
they have never been out of the
United States. Perhaps, you—
like me—have some stereotypes
about places you’ve never been to
before. “Kalau tak kenal, maka
tak sayang” (“if you don’t know,
you can’t like”) is an Indonesian
saying which means, “Of course
you cannot develop true appreciation of something without taking
the trouble to learn about it.”
Indonesia is one of the best places
to star t appreciating our
diverse world.
Indeed, Indonesia is far away
from Grand Rapids and the plane
ticket is expensive, but a trip to
Indonesia is worth the expense!
Indonesia has numerous amazing sights — the mountains,
beaches, lakes and rivers. When
I was in high school, I went to
Sempu Island for an adventure
camp. Sempu Island is a small,
beautiful island in East Java.
After half a day of hiking, we
arrived at our destination. At
first, the site looked like a common beach, but it was so calm.
No waves. No current. Just still
water. It was more like a big
pool of salt water surrounded
by green hills. In one hill a huge
hole connected the pool with
the sea just beyond. Suddenly, a
roar of water surged through the
hole and f lowed into the pool.
The water inside the pool shook
a bit, but soon it became
calm again.
The salt-water pool pictures my
life when I came to the United
States. When I was in Indonesia,
I was living in my comfort zone:
no culture shocks, no unfamiliarities. Being in a comfort zone is a
good thing, but staying too long
made me too comfortable that I
did not grow. The first time I ate
at the cafeteria in my college in
the United States, many things
were unfamiliar to me. I had
never heard of the foods before.
Some of them were tasteless,
while others were just weird.
Indonesian foods are completely
different: they contain various
spices. If you go to Indonesia,
you will find that almost every
city has its own authentic, traditional food. Each has its own
unique taste. Surabaya, my hometown, is famous for its sweet, and
sometimes spicy, peanut sauce.
Every night, from 9 p.m. to midnight, “Tahu Tek” sellers pass
t h r o u g h my n e i g h b o r h o o d
while pushing a wooden wagon
and knocking their frying pans
w it h a spoon to gai n at tention. “Tahu Tek” sellers first
fry a mixture of tofu and egg.
Then they dice the tofu, egg,
potato, cucumber and lontong
(compre ssed r ice c a ke) a nd
put them on a plate. They also
add bean sprouts and pour a
s p e c i a l s p ic y p e a nut s au c e
over it al l, t hen spr in k le on
some deep fried onion cracke r s. T he f lavor m ig ht be
strange at f irst, but you will
definitely miss it when you go
back home.
Coming from a place with a
strong collectivistic culture, I
was surprised when I came to
the United States. Here, everyone
minds his or her own business.
Yours is yours; mine is mine.
Privacy is respected. Personal
opinion matters. In contrast,
Indonesians are very collectivistic. We share anything that
can possibly be shared. Some
people even share their clothes.
When you come to Indonesia,
you will find some of the most
generous and friendliest people
in the world. They may take
you to lu nch or d i n ne r a nd
even offer you a place to stay.
Yo u w i l l b e s u r p r i s e d b y
their hospitality.
Perhaps the major concern of
being in a new place is safety.
Everyone wants to feel safe. CSI
is one of my favorite American
TV series. I never actually felt
its effect on me until I came to
the United States. Suddenly, the
scenes came alive: This is just
like the place where that person
was found dead! That person
looks like the murderer in that
episode! Moreover, the fact that
guns are legal here really scared
me. However, thank God, I have
never been in danger while in
Grand Rapids.
W he n you hea r t he word
“Indonesia,” perhaps the first
things that come to your mind
a r e t s u n a m i s, e a r t hq u a k e s
and volcanic eruptions. Many
people are scared of coming
to Indonesia because of those
catastrophic disasters. Actually,
the number of natural disasters
in Indonesia is relatively low.
Moreover, these natural disasters,
while dangerous, are part of the
reason Indonesia has very rich
soil. Once, someone told me,
“If you throw a seed on the soil
anywhere in Indonesia, it will
grow.” My father was weeding
our front yard when he suddenly
pulled out a five-inch rambutan
plant. About a week before, after
eating a rambutan, my sister
threw its seed in our front yard.
It grew.
Moreover, volcanoes are one
of the beauties of nature. Kawah
Ijen, one of the volcanoes in
Indonesia, is especially famous
for its blue fire. The burning of
sulphuric gases in the mountain is the source of its gorgeous
color. According to National
Geographic, “Those gases emerge
from cracks in the volcano at high
pressure and temperature — up to
1,112 degrees Fahrenheit. When
they come in contact with the air,
they ignite, sending flames up to
16 feet high.”
Visiting a new, far-away place
can challenge a tourist. You may
not be familiar with the language,
the culture, the weather or even
the food. However, living in
Grand Rapids has changed my
life: it has widened my view
of the world, and it has helped
me appreciate diversity. With
the advancement of technology, you can get any information about a certain place, but,
you will never really know a
place until you go there, see the
sights, taste the foods and interact
w it h t he people. T he world
i s r i c h i n d i v e r s i t y, a n d
Indonesia is one of the most
d ive r se cou nt r ie s w it h f ive
major rel ig ion s, 30 0 e t h n ic
groups, 706 languages and different traditional food in each city.
Next time, when you are at the
beach star ing toward t he
horizon, remember: the
horizon is not the end, it is only
the frame of another picture.
Prioritization, the new barbarianism
BY FRANS VAN LIER
Professor of History
“A f u rore nor ma n nor u m,
libera nos domine.”
The Lindisfarne Gospels is
one of the most beautifully illuminated Gospel books today
in the possession of the British
Library. It attests to the flourishing Christian culture that once
was the hallmark of the monastic communities in Northern
England in the seventh century.
The intellectual output of these
communities was so great and
vibrant that some scholars speak
of a “Northumbrian renaissance.”
On closer inspection of the
Lindisfarne Gospels, one can
discern that, between the lines
of the Latin text, someone inserted English translations for all
Latin words. Paleographers estimate that these translations were
added some time in the ninth
century. Evidently, someone at
that time was no longer able to
read Latin without some serious
help. What had happened? The
flourishing center of learning that
Lindisfarne once was had been
attacked in 793 by the Vikings,
the first of a series of such attacks. In the following century,
not only were monasteries in
Northumbria left in shambles;
on the continent, repeated attacks on the monastery of Tours
eventually shut down this flourishing center of Bible production.
Tours had risen to prominence
in the ninth century, when a
revival in the study of classical
arts and Christianity was supported by Charlemagne and his
successors. This revival is sometimes dubbed the “Carolingian
renaissance.” Today, the Codex
Amiatinus, a Latin bible written
in Northumbria in the seventh
century, and the bibles copied at
Tours in the ninth century are
acknowledged by biblical scholars
as crucial witnesses to the history
of the Bible in the transition from
Antiquity of the Middle Ages.
Lindisfar ne and Tours are
two places that show us that
the flourishing of Christian culture is intrinsically connected to
the study of the Latin language
and the classics. There is a historical reason for this. Of course,
when Christianity first spread, it
did so in the political context
of the Roman Empire, whose
main two languages were Latin
and Greek. The language of the
first Christians was Greek, and
their scriptures were in Greek,
too. Before too long, Christianity
spread to the Western Roman
Empire, where Latin was
the lingua franca. Even after
:t he col lapse of t he Roma n
Empire, Greek and Latin remained the two main languages
in which faith and learning were
preserved for and transmitted to
later generations.
At the same time, the use of
Greek and Latin as the language
of faith has led Christians to
keep in touch with the classical
heritage, and, where the circumstances were favorable (and
they were so in seventh-century
Northumbria and ninth-century France chief ly because they
could count on strong political
and financial support from the
local rulers), the study of the
two combined inspired periods
of intellectual and educational
renewal. The most significant of
these happened in the sixteenth
century, when not only the study
of Latin underwent a significant
revival in Western Europe, but
also the Greek lang uagewas
rediscovered. This in turn inspired one of the greatest revivals
within the Christian tradition, the
Protestant Reformation.
The study of Latin and Greek
and the study of the classics, then,
stand at the root of intellectual
life in the Christian tradition.
Today, this study is not endangered by marauding Vikings,
but by neglect. It is a cause of
great concern for me to see the
knowledge of and interest in the
classical heritage slowly erode.
It is especially painful to see this
erosion at Calvin and within the
Christian Reformed Church,
which more than other Protestant
denominations in America has a
tradition of robust intellectual engagement. The recommendation
of the prioritization committee at
Calvin College to effectively eviscerate the Classics Department at
Calvin may seem a random act
of vandalism to some. It is not.
Rather, it is a difficult and painful
decision that follows a decade of
declining student interest in classical languages at the college and
a general faltering of commitment
on the part of the Christians to
cherish their intellectual roots. If
Calvin decides to do away with its
two classical language majors, it
will be one more step in this slow
process of erosion. When you
leave a weak educational structure, the risk is that that what is
remaining will simply collapse.
And we stand to lose more here
than just an educational opportunity for a small number of majors.
Latin and Greek stand at the root
of the study of the liberal arts and
their loss at Calvin has a strong
symbolic meaning.
It is not my intention here to
play a blame game. I deplore,
but also understand the recommendation of the prioritization
committee. The main question
is: What are we going to do about
it? The Vikings did not intend to
shut down Lindisfarne or Tours
as centers of intellectual renewal.
They were simply out for plunder.
We are not vandals or barbarians.
But doing what is financially prudent can lead to the same result.
Rather than deploring the decline
of these centers in the past, or
accepting the loss of Latin and
Greek majors at Calvin in the
present, we should instead look at
what made Tours and Lindisfarne
f lourish in the first place and
learn from this. I challenge the
administration of the college
and donors to Calvin to follow
in the footsteps of Charlemagne
and Oswald of Northumbria, and
support the Classics, rather than
let the erosion continue.
11
Why the White?
BY KELSEY POWERS
Opinion and Editorial Editor
This week, I was kind of
startled to see an UnLearn
Week poster for white people.
What do we have to unlearn
about white people? W hat
“deep-seated prejudices and
stereotypes” exist? Apparently,
that white people have no
rhythm, they’re racist, they’re
privileged and they’re rich.
We don’t need to talk about
white people this week! We
shouldn’t be talking about stereotypes about white people;
we should be learning. We
white people need to go to
the events, learn and experience UnLearn Week. Do we
really need to talk about the
stereotype that white people
don’t have rhythm? Well, white
society has socialized white
men to think they shouldn’t
like dancing — that’s where
the stereotype comes from.
Shouldn’t we be talking about
where it comes from, instead of
the stereotype? It seems more
relevant to discuss the way that
white society socializes us into
thinking it’s more for women.
Or what about the fact that
we’re racist, supposedly? I
think a good deal of that is
simply a misunderstanding of
racism. Racism is prejudice
plus power. White people —
and so many others — have
a good deal of internalized
racism. White people are seen
as the default; most of the
time, they’re just referred to as
“people,” and one only needs
to look at how racist many depictions of people of color are
across so much media to see
how racist we are. Am I racist?
Unfortunately. Every day, I
have more stuff I need to unlearn, but it’ll take a lifetime.
What about being successf ul, though? Not all white
people are, but white people
still make up 82 percent of the
richest one percent, despite
making up only 62.6 percent
of the population. Chris Rock,
a black comedian, once spoke
on this. Out of hundreds in
his wealthy neighborhood,
only four of the residents were
black. All four of these black
people were famous — Eddie
Murphy was one, for example,
and Jay-Z is another. But his
white neighbor was a simple
dentist. As Rock said, “He
ain’t the best dentist in the
world, he ain’t going to the
Dental Hall of Fame, he don’t
get plaques for getting rid of
plaque. He’s just a yank-yourtooth-out dentist. See, the
black man gotta fly to get to
somethin’ the white man can
walk to!”
There is also this concept
called white privilege. That
is, we don’t get systematically
discriminated against for being white. Every president
until our current one has been
white. White representation
in current Hollywood movies
hovers at above 70 percent.
Thus, why do we need to talk
about white stereotypes in
UnLearn Week? We need to go
to the events, learn and reflect
on how we treat each other.
Why do we have to be featured in UnLearn Week? We
need to focus on the other
part: “personal evaluation
of attitudes and actions towards those with different
cultural values” and increase
our “knowledge of different
cultures.” White people as
a whole? That first part isn’t
really about us — we need
to unlearn those about other
groups. It doesn’t really fit.
12
Photo essay
October 9, 2015
Photos by Rachel Evans
CHANGING | SEASONS