The Growl Goes Live!

The Central Christian College Communicative Arts Department is excited to introduce their new Online Radio Station.  The Growl went live this week playing Contemporary Christian artist.  The station has been in the works for sometime, and after working through the proper legal procedures and technical difficulties that online radio creates the Department is proud to announce with proper dramatic flair, "It's Alive!"  The station is stream only music at this moment, but in the coming weeks and month our hopes are to greatly expand what the station can offer in the way of live shows and devotionals to help promote the college and it's spiritual growth.  This is the next step in the development of our Communications program here at CCC, and we hope you enjoy it.  Any ideas or feedback can be sent to chris.gates@centralchristian.edu .

Kremer Tabbed to Lead CCC Baseball

Central Christian College is pleased to announce the hiring for Derk Kremer as the head baseball coach for the 2014-2015 season. Coach Kremer replaces Justin Cunningham, who coached the team the past two seasons, and recently resigned to take a job in Dallas, Texas. Kremer has been a part of Cunningham’s staff the past two years as the head assistant coach and recruiting coordinator.

 

Justin Cunningham

With the announcement of Coach Cunningham’s resignation, Coach Kremer was endorsed by CCC Athletics Director Chad Kerr. President Hoxie took the recommendation from Kerr, interviewed Kremer, and with the advisement of his cabinet, Hoxie made the decision to name Kremer the head coach.

 

Kerr commented on the hiring saying, “Coach Kremer was the logical choice to be the next Head Baseball Coach here at Central.  We hate to see Coach Cunningham go, but Derk was also instrumental in the growth and improvement of the program while working side by side with Justin.  A testament to the direction of the College, the Baseball program, and Athletics department as a whole was that we had a lot of very qualified candidates reach out to me wanting to be the next coach but at the end of the day Derk was the best choice.”

 

When asked about the opportunity to lead the Tiger Baseball program, Coach Kremer responded, "I am very excited about taking over the baseball program here at Central. I am looking forward to continuing to build on the foundation we have built the last couple of years."

 

Coach Kremer will begin his duties as head coach immediately. He has already begun to actively work to retain as many of the current team members as possible, and continues to seek out recruits for next season.

Spring Break: Mission Arlington

Elli.  Olivia.  Josh.  Names on a paper.  All three of these children belong to an apartment community called Cedar Place.  Each day at 3:45 pm they would be outside, waiting for our big white van to pull into their parking lot in anticipation for Rainbow Express.  Sometimes, they would wear the same clothes they wore the day before, on others they would look very put together in their white and blue school uniforms.  Rainbow Express plays host to a variety of children; it’s easy to deal with the happy children or the quiet, shy ones that don’t know what to do with strangers.  But then, you get the stubborn ones.  The ones that keep their arms crossed, held close as if hugging themselves would make everything better.  The ones that wear the defiant looks most of the time, but sometimes it will slip to show the frustration and hopelessness of their situation.  These are eight, nine, ten year olds that have already seen too much and still have a lot to see in a world that just doesn’t seem to care.  Luckily, these same kids happen to live in a city where God is working through a wonderful group called Mission Arlington based in Arlington, Texas. 

            Mission Arlington provides food, clothes, medical help, furniture, and more to those that need it in the Arlington area.  They were founded by Miss Tillie Burgin, who now as a spry older woman, still manages to be the heart of Mission Arlington.  The first words she said to us were, “We did not invite you.  You are here because God called you here to do His work.”  Right away, she let all of us know what this week would be like.  Specifically, the week would focus on Rainbow Express, a vacation bible school, that was put on by junior high to college groups of students on spring break.  It was only one hour and thirty minutes for four days.  Six hours all together to reach a group of children that may have never heard the Gospel.  A tall order for many teenagers, but not for our God.  If one thing was continually preached to us during our worship services, it was the call to pray for boldness, pray for God to work through us, pray, pray, pray.  I find it funny how God makes things work together.  Here we are at Central, focusing on the theme of prayer in our lives, and we drive to Arlington, Texas to hear the very same thing.  God works in mysterious ways, indeed. 

            While the focus of the week is Rainbow Express, the mornings are filled by doing service projects all over the city.  Last year, we strengthened and repainted a playground set for one apartment complex.  But, this year, we got a bit more variety.  Our first day, we participated in a project called Drive and Ride.  Basically, we picked up donated furniture, brought it back to the Mission, then went back out again to deliver different furniture to disadvantaged citizens.  The joke, of course, that goes along with this job is that it never fails, “If you have a sleeper sofa, it’ll be on the second floor.”  And, Mission Arlington did not fail us.  Our first delivery was to a man who needed that sleeper sofa plus a queen sized bed and various other end tables.  While we got the sofa up the flight of stairs without too much of a tough time, granted this is coming from the girl who was downstairs looking on while laughing at the puffing red faces of the guys in the group, the queen sized bed was another story.  It took quite a bit of maneuvering and almost losing the bed to the flower beds below to finally get it into the man’s apartment.  The whole time this scene unfolded, all that replayed through my mind were the infamous words from Friends, “Pivot. Pivot! PIVOT!” 

            Finally, though, after an eventful morning and a packed lunch, we were ready to start Rainbow Express.  We started with a puppet show, and, yes, you read that right, we did puppet shows.  Every day for four days, we had two puppets named Ben and Charis that popped their little yarn heads over a table set on its side twice a day to basically act silly and make the kids laugh.  And, let me tell you, did these kids laugh!  I don’t know what it is about an arm in an over-decorated sock, but it drives children crazy!  As soon as they see the two puppets poke their heads up and start talking in those high-pitched voices, they perk up real quick.  Although, it does get a little precarious when some curious little ones decide they want to touch the puppet and pull it right off, but that’s another story…

            We continued the afternoon with a Bible story, games, and crafts/snacks.  Each day had a different story which led up to Wednesday, otherwise known as Salvation Day.  This is when we break out the colorful beads to make the salvation bracelets with each bead explaining some part of the salvation process.  While we did not have any children commit their lives for the first time to Jesus, several had already done so with their families which was very encouraging to hear!  After all this fun, however, the kids would have to go home, and we were responsible for getting them there. This provided parents the assurance that their children were being looked after.  In fact, this was one of the most stressed things by Mission Arlington: walk every child home and find out their needs. 

            What made this whole experience amazing, though, was the kids.  Despite those attitudes, each and every one of them had an impact on us, and by the end of the week, we could see a definite change in them, too.  Take Josh, for instance.  That first day he rode his bike in with a scowl on his face.  He would ride off then come back and join us, then he would ride off again.  He even got in a fight that we had to break up!  All over one little piece of chocolate.  Needless to say, don’t ever hand out chocolate coins; it drives kids to violence, apparently!  But, by Wednesday, there was a changing point.  For one, we brought him new clothes which he asked for, and as soon as he saw the blue pants we got him for school, he ran home and changed into them as quickly as he could.  He was so proud of one pair of used and faded blue pants.  After that, he was more open and friendly, a complete 180 from that first day.  Of course, while there were those troubled children, I’d feel wrong leaving out one ray of sunshine that literally became one of our brightest spots.  Landon.  That boy.  He was always smiling, always joyful, and he knew every Bible story we taught.  His favorite thing to do was sneaking up behind people to scare them.  Unfortunately, I seemed to be a favorite victim and got grabbed from behind more times than I care to admit.  Nevertheless, Landon was a testament to what God could do for someone being raised in not the best of situations: lack of furniture, bed bugs, lack of food or clothes, etc.  He knew Jesus, and you could tell just by the way he glowed!  He truly is a shining light for Him.

            To finish up,  I truly love Mission Arlington and all of its work.  They have created a unique place for God to work through.  He provides them the volunteers and the supplies needed to reach a ridiculous number of people each and every day all year.  They never have a break, but is there really ever a need?  Matt, one of the main workers, mentioned that if “seeing the happiness on someone’s face from you giving them food” is what makes it all worth it, then pretty soon you are going to burn out.  He is a firm believer that you need to have a passion for God and to do His work.  Go out!  Disciple people!  Does this include meeting their basic needs?  Yes.  But, don’t make that what’s worth it.  God is worth it.  He is so amazing; how can we not want to go out everyday and spread His love.  To share what He’s done for you, me, all of us.  Mission Arlington may seem radical in all their good deeds but that should be our normal!  Not this complacent, maybe helping someone out once in a while life we are leading now.  And, I know it’s difficult.  I’m still trying to figure out what living out what I did there looks like here, at Central Christian College in McPherson, Kansas.

Preach It!

As spring rounds the corner across central Kansas, Central Christian prepares for the yearly spring events. One of these prestigious events is the Chaney Bible Lecture.

                The Chaney Bible Lecture has been an opportunity for Central’s ministry students to get outside knowledge from professors, pastors, and leaders in the church. This year’s lecture will focus on the communication of preaching.

                “What we’re doing this year is a little different then what we’ve done in the past,” stated Dr. Glenn Lorenz. “We’re doing an all day event with the keynote in the front and the end and in between we’re doing workshops.”

                The keynote speaker will be Doug Nason of Fuller Theological Seminary who is a professor of communication in conjunction with the curriculum for ministry. The four workshop leaders then will be Rev. Joe Boyd of Aviator Church in Wichita, Professor Derek Brown of Barclay College, Dr. Chris Kettler of Friends University, and Dr. Wendell Loewen from Tabor College. Dr. Larry Anderson, a professor of theology at Central Christian, studied under the keynote at Fuller.

                “He was one of my preaching professors at Fuller Seminary back in the 80’s. We’ve just sort of stayed in touch all these years,” said Dr. Anderson.  “I thought he would be a wonderful person to bring on board to do the lectures. His area of expertise is preaching.”

                The event will be April 7^th from 9:30 in the morning to 8:30 in the evening which is untypical from the past. It will take place in The Warehouse at Central. Ministry students are required to attend and it is geared toward them, but the event is open to the public and to other Central students. In fact, the event may be attended by students from surrounding colleges especially where some of the speakers are coming from.

Dr. Anderson reported, “You’ll be stimulated to think about how the gospel is communicated.”

By: Caleb Chase

The Art Program Needs your HELP!

Greetings from the Central Christian College Art Department and thank you for your support and interest. We would like to invite you to join us on our mission to purchase a large format printer. The Art Department is dedicated towards growth and Campus Beautification, and a large scale 44 inch printer is the next step towards reaching our goals. This printer offers the highest degree of accuracy in matching the colors of the original art work and uses high quality inks that don’t fade over time.

We will host this campaign starting March 31st through May 14th.  We have faith that in a mere 45 days we can raise the afore menthion $8000.  Please visit our Website Central Christian College Art to learn more about rewards offered to those who donate and for links to our own CCC safe donation webpage.  After selecting Donate Now, donors will end up at our very own CCC website and be promoted to enter donation amount and designation.  Make sure you choose FINE ARTS PRINTER! Updates on progress will be posted twice a week.  Please join us in this new attempt to raise money and boost the Art Program with a printer that will meet their fast growing needs.

The benefits of a large format printer are numerous. Frist, the art and graphics students will have the opportunity to create high quality fine art prints known as giclee’ prints at a low cost. This will strengthen their portfolios, ability to exhibit in shows, enter completions, submit to galleries and retail their prints to gain a wider visibility with collectors and clients. Graphics students, needing experience in the printing industry, will have the opportunity to learn to operate and produce professional art and earn an income as a regular job.

 

Second, Central Christian College will be able to attract a greater number of art students interested in a professional career in the arts. The college will be able to display and promote art on and off campus. The printer will also be able to produce much of the colleges printing needs “in house” for a substantial savings. Proceeds from sales will be used for self-maintenance and reinvestment in print supplies and additional equipment.

 

Third, The Fine Arts Dept. and student jobs will provide the community with giclee prints at fair market value, with the convenience of local drop off & pick up.

If you are interested in supporting the Art Program and helping us to thrive please consider donating to this cause either through your donations or just in praying for the success of our campaign.  Here is a direct link to CCC's Give Now site.  Upon entering make sure to select Fine Arts Printer as the Designation spot for your donation.  We thank you for your interest and look forward to all that God has planned for us!




 

 

 

 

 

PBL is Alive and Flourishing

Dr. David Ferrell Chair
of the Business Department

Phi Beta Lambda is CCC’s very own business club boasting 17 official members and a host of others who attend the many functions the group offers.  In a recent interview with Micah Church and Professor Heath Whitehouse, I learned that over the last year the national membership numbers have dropped in the neighborhood of 2000 members, but our own CCC group has grown.  What is it that Dr. Ferrell and Mr. Whitehouse are doing to increase membership when the national memberships have been declining?  The answer lies in their excellent leadership and outward focus.

PBL is about finding ways to make a difference locally, regionally, and globally.  Our local PBL chapter has been developing projects that focus on these three areas and teaching students the power and influence they can have in the world if only they dare to get involved.

The first project, PBL has created what it calls externships, where students are paired up with community business leaders and given the opportunity to learn from them and their experiences.  They meet over coffee or in the workplace and discuss ways in which they can be successful as the look at entering the work force themselves.  This allows the student a mentor from the region and the ability to begin networking, but also allows the community we live in to get to know us and our students better.

For the second project, PBL is teaming up with the Set Free Movement.  Kevin Austin has spoken in Chapel about the problems of slavery in the world and has inspired PBL to take a proactive approach and get involved from a business standpoint.  They are investigating ways in which they can set up social enterprises to help set up safe houses or help get missionaries funding to help with the problem.

The third project is very local.  It benefits the students by providing on campus lectures and tours of local businesses to help the student learn more about the professional business world and see what some of the local businesses and like and things they are trying to get ahead.

PBL students have been working very hard lately, but not just on these service projects.  The students have been in many hours preparing for  the 63^rd Kansas PBL State Leadership Conference.  Here they competed against the best from the state for a chance at Nationals this June.  Here are the colleges that were in attendance:  Butler; Central Christian, Colby, Cowley, Emporia State, Flint Hills Tech, Ft. Hays, KU, Labette, and Sterling.

Sixteen students entered in a variety of competitive events, both team and individual.  These are the events they placed in.   All students were expected to enter five events each.  Several of these events required work ahead of time including production tests, regular tests, resumes and cover letters.  The students who placed first or second are eligible to go to nationals in Nashville, TN this coming June.   Those going to nationals can compete in two events.  These are in order of events.  Also, as you can see from the variety of events, it is not just for business majors.

Accounting Analysis and Decision Making (team) – SECOND PLACE, Joanie Magallanes, Sydney Nelson and Tara Kemp

Accounting for Professions – THIRD PLACE – Joanie Magallanes

Accounting Principles – THIRD PLACE – Joanie Magallanes

Business Communications – THIRD PLACE – Caleb Chase

Business Decision Making (team) – FIRST PLACE – Brady Sherman, Micah Church, Stephanie Street; THIRD PLACE – Josh Black, Ray Anderson

Business Law – SECOND PLACE – Ray Anderson

Business Presentation (team) – FIRST PLACE  - Brady Sherman, James Dunlap, Micah Church

Business Sustainability (team) – FIRST PLACE – Drew Schiesser; SECOND PLACE – Josh Black, Ray Anderson

Contemporary Sports Issue – SECOND PLACE – Liz Caron

Cost Accounting – SECOND PLACE – Joanie Magallanes

Economic Analysis and Decision Making – FIRST PLACE – Drew Schiesser

Emerging Business Issues – FIRST PLACE – Drew Schiesser

Entrepreneurship Concepts – FIRST PLACE  - Tara Kemp; SECOND PLACE  - Brady Sherman

Financial Concepts – SECOND PLACE – Joanie Magallanes

Future Business Executive – FIRST PLACE – Brady Sherman; SECOND PLACE  - Micah Church

Help Desk – THIRD PLACE – James Dunlap

Hospitality Management (team) – FIRST PLACE – Amanda Curtis, Courtney Huff, Stevie Ellis

Human Resource Management (team) – THIRD PLACE – James Dunlap, Stephanie Street

Impromptu Speaking (SECOND PLACE) – Caleb Chase

International Business (THIRD PLACE) – Drew Schiesser

Job Interview (THIRD PLACE) – Stephanie Street

Management Analysis and Decision Making (team) – FIRST PLACE – Ray Anderson and Josh Black

Management Concepts – FIRST PLACE – Tara Kemp; THIRD PLACE – Amanda Curtis

Marketing Analysis and Decision Making (team) – FIRST PLACE – Liz Caron, Brady Sherman, Micah Church

Marketing Concepts – SECOND PLACE – Liz Caron

Microeconomics – THIRD PLACE –Stevie Ellis

Organizational Leadership and Behavior – THIRD PLACE – Liz Caron

Public Speaking – FIRST PLACE – Emily Ratsdakhom

Retail Management – THIRD PLACE – Micah Church

Sports Management and Marketing (team) – FIRST PLACE – Liz Caron; THIRD PLACE – Tara Kemp

Statistical Analysis – THIRD PLACE – Drew Schiesser

Professor Heath Whitehouse

Strategic Analysis and Decision Making (team) – FIRST PLACE – Caleb Chase and Stephanie Street

These students have worked hard to bring home 40 plus awards topping last year’s number and securing a spot for every student at nationals.  PBL has begun raising funds for this trip and are excited about the possibilities.  Please if you see them congratulate the students on a job well done, and congratulate the professors and their excellent leadership.

Prayer Walk Every Monday

Have you been hearing about an early Morning Prayer walk? Well, the rumors are false. Well kind of. Gillespie RD, Micah Metz has started a weekly prayer walk, but the walks take place every Monday at 8:00 PM, not AM.

     This weekly prayer is open to the entire campus. It is a multifaceted prayer for the school and one’s self. The idea is to take time every week to pray for the school and pray for you in particular. It is central focused on self and then worked out to the school. This isn’t a “God I need this” kind of prayer for yourself; it is a seeking of God to use you and help you to minister to others.

     There are four symbols that Micah has integrated into the prayer. The first is a cross for salvation. The second is a towel for being a servant. The third is a hammer for doing the work. The fourth is a globe for the idea of ministry, both here and to the world.

     If you are interested in joining or would like more information, you can ask Micah Metz or one of your RAs.

By: Caleb Voyles

The Full Foley

Fr. Ryan D. Mackey, OCC, MACM

  Of the many programs available to pursue degrees in at Central, the music department flourishes and thrives with many successful graduates and outlets available for students to further their talents outside the classroom. The Chaney Music Symposium is an opportunity for music majors and music enthusiasts alike to broaden their scope, gain new knowledge, and enjoy great music.

            This years’ Symposium on March 6^th will be featuring Dr. Mark Foley of Wichita State University. There, Foley is Professor of Double Bass and holds the position of Principal Double Bass in the Wichita Symphony Orchestra.

“He is a very diverse musician,” reported Father Ryan Mackey, a music professor at Central who has taken graduate studies with Dr. Foley at WSU. “I personally have got to see him play with the Wichita Symphony Orchestra: play blues, play jazz, and I know that he’s played in rock bands and such, too.”

During his career, Dr. Foley has been involved in every genre from punk to jazz and played in bands and orchestras from Minneapolis to New York. He has played in the Rochester Philharmonic, the pop group Clang, performs yearly at the Colorado Music Festival Orchestra, and founded the Knob Festival of New Music in Wichita just to name a few of his achievements.

 The Chaney lecture and performance on March 6^th will have Dr. Foley focus on electronic music.  “I’m sure I’ll touch on recent societal changes in how music is bought and sold, and how challenging and exciting that is for musicians,” stated Foley in an exclusive interview. “The biggest challenge for me with making electronic music is to have it always be a human expression; a connection between people. It’s taken me down some interesting roads.”

The connection between Mackey and Foley and indeed between Foley and Central through past concerts lays the groundwork for an interesting Symposium.

“I’ve admired Father Mackey’s work for a while now- he’s a kindred spirit, always curious about new things, varied musical tastes, fearless about trying new ways of making music,” reported Foley.

The lecture will take place at 4:00 and the performance will begin at 7:00. Both events will be held in The Warehouse on Central’s campus at the corner of Ave E and Main St. Both are open to the public although they are geared towards the students involved in various music programs at Central.

The performance will be an opportunity for Foley to feature his latest endeavors in the electronic music genre.  However, Foley’s history, experience, and talent in a variety of genres of music and his desire to push the bounds of music are evident.

“He’ll be answering questions like ‘what does the future of music look like?’ He’s a person who did his doctoral dissertation on like a piece of 17^th century classical music,” said Mackey. “He spends most of his time teaching Beethoven. I teach the span of music history. But now we’re focusing very tight on a very current way of music making [electronic music]. What kind of implications does that hold for the future of music?”

by C. Philip Chase

P.S. Check out some of the students electronic music at http://www.cccfinearts.com/#!electronic-music/ca6v.
P.P.S. Check out a blog post by the good Doctor on creating your own electronic Music. http://kmuw.org/post/musical-space-phoneland

Student Government: Looking for a few good Peeps!

Student Government: Preparing for Another Year

The snow is melting.  The sun is shining.  And the freshly printed invitations to this year’s Student Government Association Dinner are on their way out to a select number of students on campus.  On Sunday, February 23^rd, these talented freshmen, sophomores, and juniors will meet in the ADR to learn more about SGA’s role on campus and how they can become a part of it.  SGA brings together an eclectic assortment of students who love Central and care about making it better.  The goal of this dinner is to show how one group can impact such a small campus in big ways.  This event will hopefully help the prospective applicants buy into the values of student government and what it means to be a leader on campus. 

          There will be four seniors leaving SGA this year: Courtney Huff, Erik Anderson, Caleb Chase, and Stephanie Harper.  This will leave four definitive spots for any freshmen, sophomores, or juniors to step up and make their own.  The application process is fairly easy, and the interviews will be casual conversations trying to scope out who really has a heart for this kind of responsibility.  While most of the positions will be appointed, the Student Body President will be chosen through a school-wide election which will also determine the Vice President of Senate.  By March, SGA is looking to have its next year roster filled out, so the new recruits can train under the current year’s VPs. 

 

by: Stephanie Harper 

The 7th Annual Singer Songwriters Guild

  Crawford and Salasin will be performing at The Warehouse, located behind the CCM building, on February 21, 2014 at 7:00pm after the lectures, in which Noffy will be speaking about singer-songwriting, at The Well at 4:00pm .

  

  Crawford and Salasin is a musical duo consisting of Jesse Crawford and Lisa Salasin Noffsinger. Both are currently residing in Nashville, TN where they work on their music. Lisa is married to David Noffsinger, or as he is better known as Noffy. Noffy, a Mcpherson native, moved to Nashville to pursue his musical talent. Crawford and Salasin, being former Central Christian College graduates in 2012,  have continued to grow in talent over the past two years. 

  Their music style can best be summed up in the acoustic folk genre. During their junior year, for a project, they recorded an EP entitled “A Place to Lay Your Head” with five songs all ranging differently in sound and instrumentation. A few people who helped out on the EP were Jamie Taylor (class of 2010), Konner Bergstom (class of 2012), and Father Ryan Mackey. 

  The duo writes their own music and lyrics and also plays their own instruments.  The sound can be easily compared to bands such as The Civil Wars, He & She, and The Head and the Heart.  You can find Crawford and Salasin’s EP on iTunes and Amazon and also on Youtube where they have done a few covers.

By: Sara Crawford

No Fear in McPherson, No Fear in Central Cheer

             A quick trip to a Central basketball game or a skim-through of any of the various social outlets online will make it apparent the kind of presence that Central Christian College cheerleaders have on this campus.

            Why the new and improved charisma? In addition to the coaching of Kellory Blanchard, a decorated Central cheering alum in her inaugural year as head coach at Central, the squad is now recognized as an official sport compared to the club status that it held in the past.

            “We’ve improved a lot because Kellory has high expectations for us and thrusts it on us,” stated senior cheerleader Laura Smith, who has been involved with cheer since her freshman year of high school. “The fact that we can do the stunts that we’ve been doing is really impressive to me.”

            Amidst the squad’s success, they are plagued with youth and inexperience. Some of the girls have never cheered before this year and the majority of the Central seven are underclassmen. Despite this, the group has been thriving; building community together; attempting new stunts; and leading the school in spirit.

            “I don’t want people to ever go away from a conversation from me without knowing how proud I am of this,” reported Blanchard. “I have so much gratitude for the school and for the girls.”

            Blanchard has high hopes for the team. She has set her sights on recruiting pursuits to build the team to sixteen girls and four guys in the future; a stronger focus on stunts; and cheering competitions as well as hosting cheer camps and clinics to strengthen the community aspect.

            “I used to be the girl that would make fun of the cheerleaders, like when they messed up, but now I understand that’s like missing a goal in soccer,” said Haley McMath, a sophomore flyer on the squad and first year cheerleader. “I enjoy it a lot, more than I thought I ever would.”

            Central fans can enjoy the talented stunts and amplified cheering during home games. With a renewed vigor and a bright future, the cheerleading squad is setting their sights on the remainder of the basketball season; the possibility of competition; and recruiting for next year.

by C. Philip Chase

Happy Movie Fun Time!

Looking for a fun night out, but lacking in funds? Want to ask that new freshman hottie on a date, but your wallet is empty? Perhaps you just want to get out of the dorm and away from those smelly animals you call wing mates, but all you can find in your pockets are lent and old bubblegum? Well have I got just the thing for you!

McPherson Cinema IV and Centrals very own SGA, have teamed up to bring you a cheap, yet entertaining deal. The first Wednesday of every month Central students can head down to Cinema IV and watch special showings of great films for only 3 dollars. Many students had a fantastic night out (and not to mention affordable) on February 5^th watching some sweet flicks such as Lone Survivor and Ride Along. So don’t miss out next month on all the fun!

By: Matt Pulaski

Digital Detox!

They are not texting each other!

Does technology have a strangle hold on our society?  Are our students suffering from technologyitis?  Do we need to take a step back and go through a Digital Detox?  All questions the Rez Life Staff have been asking over the last several months.   Chris Smith, Chief Student Affairs Officer, and the Rez Life Staff are promoting a Digital Detox Challenge.   In trying to explain what all this meant Pastor Smith sent out and e-mail addressing the challenge.

“Beginning on Wednesday, February 12, at 11:00pm, the RA staff will be hosting a Starting @ 9 in which they will challenge our students to sign-up for a 2 week Digital Detox.  They can’t text, tweet, post, share, use their computers for anything other than homework and not use the internet for anything other than research for class.  Obviously not everyone will sign up to participate, but as an added incentive we will be offering elective Chapel credits to students who sign-up to participate and will submit reflection or journal entries when we conclude the Digital Detox at the Starting @ 9 on Wednesday, February 26. “

I remember a time when technology seemed like a small thing.  It held no hold over my life and did not guide my minute to minute interactions or ability to be a functioning member of society.  The world has changed over the last two decades and technology or the need to be plugged in has overtaken our lives.  Is this change for the better or worse?  Some students say they need the social media networks to effectively communicate with coworkers and volunteers to organize and produce the many things they are involved with on campus.  To them walking away from social media would not just affect them personally but professionally and drop their output levels.  Some others admit that they are slowed down by the constant desire to check Facebook or Twitter to see what is going on with their friends.

Technology obviously has it positives and negatives.  It is distracting at times and can slow progress, and yet at other times it is the oil that greases the cogs of communication.  The question becomes is the convenience of instant faceless, voiceless communication stunting our ability to communicate face to face and impairing our perception of what is appropriate and inappropriate communication behavior.

The Rez Life Staff have noticed an increased amount of comments that students have made via social media that they would never have said to someone face to face.  They have also taken note of students sitting in the same room texting each other as opposed to talking out loud, or even attending sporting events and instead of cheering, they are sitting in the stands on their phones.  Now, in their defense they could be tweeting scores, but in all likely hood that is probably a small fraction of the time they are spending on their phones.

Has technology dumbed us down in the area of verbal communication?  I believe that the obvious answer here is, YES.  The real question is will a Digital Detox help?