The Clarion, Vol. 83, Issue #21, Feb. 21, 2018 - Brevard College

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Feb 21, 2018 - Campus News. SENIOR STAFF. Editor in Chief. Jordon Morgan. Managing Editor Calum McAndrew. Copy Editor. J
Volume 83, Issue 21

Web Edition EditionSERVING BREVARD COLLEGE SINCE 1935

Find your Horoscope inside on page 5!

February 21, 2018

IWIL begins annual mentoring for local middle schoolers

By Mary Lewe

Staff Writer First-year members of the Institute for Women in Leadership have been spending their Tuesday afternoons this semester with a group of sixth-grade girls at Brevard Middle School. By leading games and activities, IWIL aims to teach the girls a lesson each week. The IWIL women have signed up in groups of two or three to lead activities and games for each Tuesday of the program. Although this is only the third week of active mentoring for

this group, the women of IWIL have already had some meaningful experiences with the girls. “My favorite thing about mentoring these girls is the chance to watch them branch out and meet new people,” IWIL member Amber Blanton said. “They’re so excited about getting to know the other girls, and I’m excited to watch them continue to grow stronger as they grow older.” The IWIL women are learning a lot about what it means to be caretakers and leaders for kids in a school setting. Some of those lessons turn out to be quite practical. IWIL member Abi Fuesler, for

Photo by Alessandra “Le” Tavoloni

IWIL mentors and Brevard Middle School students play a game that demonstrates connection in a community. The first year IWIL students have committed their Tuesday afternoons this semester to spending time with the sixth grade girls, teaching them life lessons in the process.

example, explained one thing the women learned early on about their mentees: the power of food. “The first week we were struggling because the girls were antsy and having trouble focusing,” Fuesler said. “Afterwards it dawned on us that it was because it was three o’clock and they needed a snack, so the second week we brought Goldfish and everything went a lot smoother. We learned the importance of meeting basic needs before advancing to more consuming topics. “I hope the girls are learning to be goobers,” Fuesler added. “I’m so excited to witness the girls as they grow through the program. It’s awesome to take skills I’ve learned in IWIL and then create a mini-IWIL for these sixth graders.” In addition to meeting the needs of the girls, the women are seeking to foster connections with them. “My favorite part about mentoring is connecting with the girls in different ways, such as loving crazy socks as much as Madison or having the same awesome name as Hannah,” IWIL member Hannah Weatherall said. “I think our biggest challenge is offering games and topics that are interesting to everyone in the group.” Alessandra “Le” Tavoloni teaches the firstyear IWIL class this semester and supervises the Tuesday afternoon mentoring sessions. Put another way, she is the mentors’ mentor. “The IWIL mentoring program is a unique experience and a great opportunity not only for the middle school sixth graders to learn more about important topics such as social skills, selfimage, self-confidence, but also for us mentors to grow as leaders,” Tavoloni said. “As a professor, getting to know amazing women and their personalities through the IWIL program, to see them growing and teaching these young girls, and sharing their experiences and knowledge is something absolutely amazing,” Tavoloni said. “I look forward each week to seeing my girls—a strong group of student leaders—growing, learning, teaching, overcoming challenges, mentoring, and most importantly, having a great time.”

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Campus News

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February 21, 2018

Fall 2018 RA applications Security Advice from the housing staff By Kelly Kearnan Staff writer

Brevard College’s Campus Life office is currently accepting Resident Advisor applications for Fall 2018 until Wednesday, Feb. 28. Director of Housing Operations, Elizabeth Abrams, encourages any male or female who is interested to apply. The applications are located on student’s campus email and are a preliminary way of looking at the applicant’s background and involvement on campus. “We, as the housing staff, try to match personalities of applicants with the building, or community, that best suits them,” Abrams explained. The Villages house over 200 upperclassmen. “The Campus Life staff typically places RAs with strong personalities willing to tackle tough situations in the Villages,” Abrams said. Green Residence Hall houses upperclassmen in single rooms and community bathrooms in each hall. Abrams explained, “Green Hall has its own dynamics, and RAs need to maintain a balance between upholding policies and the overall health and safety of its residents.” “RAs who enjoy decorating doors and hallways, programming, and acting as a big brother or sister to residents, will typically be placed in a first year hall,” Abrams continued. Associate Dean of Students and Housing

Staff On Call, Michael Cohen, describes various characteristics RAs should have in order to succeed including strong communication skills, the right motivation, and the ability to handle multiple roles. “We are looking for people that can build a foundation within their smaller communities and within a team of RAs that enables them to create mutual respect with their residents so that we can create a supportive environment that helps students focus on learning and advancing their goals,” Cohen explained. Cohen described the struggle RAs have with holding their friends and peers accountable for standards that the college has asked of its community. “Being an RA on a small college campus can be challenging because we are such a small community and everyone has relationships that they must be thoughtful about,” said Cohen. Although the position can be stressful, Cohen continued, “RAs help us define what a healthy community is on campus. It takes a great deal of internal strength and maturity to balance the bigger picture needs of our campus with the closer relationships an RA has formed.” The prospective RAs will be contacted after the application deadline of Feb. 28 about the interview process beginning the week following Spring Break.

Report

The most recent security reports for Brevard College have been released as of Tuesday, Feb. 20 at 10:53 a.m., according to Brevard College Campus Security. Students are reminded to keep dogs on leashes at all times when on campus. On that note, students are also reminded that unless approved, pets are not allowed to be kept in the residence halls. Students are reminded that unless you have the appropriate decal, you are not allowed to have your car on campus. Everyone is requested to contact Campus Security at (828)-577-9590 if wrongful or suspicious activity is observed on campus. — Zach Dickerson

the Clarion Senior Staff Editor in Chief . . . . Jordon Morgan Managing Editor . . . Calum McAndrew Copy Editor . . . . . . Jeni Welch Campus News . . . . Zach Dickerson Opinion . . . . . . . . Florian Peyssonneaux Arts & Life . . . . . . Lauren M. Fowler Sports . . . . . . . . Calum McAndrew Layout & Design . . . Jeni Welch Faculty Advisor . . . . John B. Padgett

Other Staff Carmen Boone Ivy Pope Kelly Kearnan Daniel Ramos Mary Lewe Madison Ramsey Emily Massing Morgan Shepard Matheus Masukawa

The Clarion is a student-run college newspaper produced by student journalists enrolled at Brevard College. Unsigned editorials represent the collective opinion of the staff of The Clarion. Other opinions expressed in this newspaper are those of respective authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the faculty, staff or administration of Brevard College.

All correspondence should be mailed to: The Clarion, Brevard College, One Brevard College Drive, Brevard, NC 28712, or send E-mail to [email protected] clarion.brevard.edu Photo by Sara Jerome

Students (from left to right) Chad Young, Lucas Gomez, and Mac Fitzgerald work with professional fly fishing guide Ken Hardwick next to King’s Creek. During a Valentine’s Day casting clinic, students from the BC Fly Fishing Club got to practice their casting with the help of Hardwick, President of the Pisgah Chapter of Trout Unlimited Sara Jerome and club advisor Robert Dye.

 Letters Policy: The Clarion welcomes

letters to the editor. We reserve the right to edit letters for length or content. We do not publish anonymous letters or those whose authorship cannot be verified.

February 21, 2018 | The Clarion

Government

Opinion

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Educating ‘Hillbillies’

‘Food Boxes proposed to replace Food Stamps’ under Don’t judge a forum by its Trump administration title By Jordon Morgan Editor in Chief



Recent reports over the last week have revealed that the Trump Administration is seeking to implement a new policy in regards to the food stamp program which would replace existing EBT cards with “Harvest Box” products such as canned milk, pasta, peanut butter, meat, and fruits and vegetables. According to Vox, these proposed changes are a part of a concerted effort to fall in line with the proposed $200 billion dollar cut to the overall program over the next 10 years. Just to recap, people who receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits are given EBT cards, which basically act as special debit cards, so that they can purchase unprepared foods, meaning hot items such as deli sandwiches or rotisserie chicken cannot be bought with them, at authorized grocery stores or other businesses. To quote Vox again, “the change would affect about 16.4 million households — about 81 percent — of those receiving SNAP benefits, according to the USDA.” One of the biggest issues with this proposal is how it seems to offer no details on how it will actually work. Plus, in typical Republican fashion, the party that touts itself to be the one of small government is putting forth a program that will dictate what you can eat, how much, and when you can get it. Sounds like small government doesn’t it? Going back to the original point, the whole idea behind it (on the surface at least) is to match services such as Blue Apron, which delivers FRESH ingredients by the way, and save money in preparation for the proposed budget cut. Let’s not forget that this administration just passed a bill that puts a $1.5 trillion hole in the deficit and gives the riches Americans and corporations that same amount of money in tax cuts. They would get about $50,000 a year in tax breaks whereas we poor average Americans get an extra $1.50. Thanks, thanks a lot. So to try and make up for that money this is one of the ideas they have, to cut or at least drastically reduce a critical service that 42 million Americans, including about 20 million children, need to even have regular food on the table.

By Ivy Pope

Vox again explains that “people buy food with EBT cards, which function as debit cards for eligible purchases. Items such as alcohol or cigarettes aren’t allowed, nor are any household items like paper towels or shampoo. People also can’t get SNAP benefits paid out in cash.” So it isn’t as though this is a system that can be easily exploited. Yes, SNAP fraud does exist, in the form of people trading in those benefits for cash or other illegal goods which is known as food stamp trafficking, but this only accounts for 1.5% of the overall program budget. Point being, there really is no reason to propose such a drastic cut to the program. Beyond the moral ambiguousness of such an idea, most experts would agree it’d be a logistical nightmare. Sure, a privately owned business like Blue Apron can handle it, but shipping and distributing alone costs them (Blue Apron that is) about one-third of their overall business, but what about the federal government? Again, Vox puts it best when they say that “there are plenty of unanswered questions about how this would work: Would boxes be delivered door-to-door? Would people have to be home to receive Harvest boxes — a likely challenge for shift workers? Or would people have to visit a distribution center? What happens to elderly or disabled individuals? What about transportation costs, or accessibility, particularly in rural areas?” Is this likely to pass? It’s hard to say. Given the Republican majority government it is likely, but at the same time given the inevitable potential issues with trying to figure how exactly it would work, and also that so many Americans benefit from this program, many of whom are “whites without a college degree—the cornerstone of the modern GOP electoral coalition” according to the Atlantic, it could go either way. Regardless, it’s yet another showcase that the current administration is digging its own grave. At some point, the voters will connect the dots and see that Republicans are doing nothing to help them, but they are doing everything to help the richest among us.

Staff Writer

On Feb. 15, at 7 p.m. I attended the second diversity forum, titled: Educating “Hillbillies”. I entered MG 125 with skepticism, because the title seemed very offensive, especially to someone who does take great pride in identifying as a ‘hillbilly’. However, within the first ten minutes, I quickly realized that this forum was not going to be offensive, because the person speaking, a history instructor from Brevard College that many of you may know and love, Joshua Wilkey, started out by telling his story. And in hearing his story, I realized that I related to it, quite a lot in fact. He talked about how, growing up, he thought that intellects and smarts were for the rich kids. And the moment he said that, I was taken back to my high school years, where I did go to a very prestigious school; I’d gotten into this school on pure luck, and had only applied because, at the time, it was the only way I was going to get an associates degree. However, this school was in another town, and was very well-equipped. In my opinion, Caldwell Early College High School was not for “everyone”, as they had advertised, but for those with money and definite college plans. Despite not fitting in, I did get my associates degree, though I got it by the skin of my teeth. Wilkey proceeded to give us statistics about the number of poor children who receive cash aid, the amount of children under the age of eighteen in poverty, and then went to break those statistics down into racial groups. And in seeing those statistics, even with the knowledge that statistics can be skewed, it made me realize that poverty is not uncommon. I had grown up in Caldwell County, seeing poverty. Throughout my life, I have gone from middle-class, to impoverished, to lowermiddle-class, so I may view poverty differently than other people, but I had never viewed it in context, or really stopped to think about it, until Wilkey’s forum. He tells us: “Poverty is abstract.” And he See ‘Hillbillies’ on page 8

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Opinion

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February 21, 2018

Only one nation in the world has a mass-shooting problem

(Hint: It’s the one with way too many guns...) By Calum McAndrew

Managing Editor In 1996 Thomas Hamilton killed 16 children and one teacher at an elementary school in Dunblane, Scotland before taking his own life. The then Conservative government of the United Kingdom, led by then Prime Minister John Major, held a gun amnesty in which over 150,000 handguns were turned in. Within a year and a half of the Dunblane massacre, the government issued a ban on handguns. In the 22 years that have followed the massacre in Scotland, there has been one mass shooting in the whole of the United Kingdom, and zero in Scotland itself. It would be inaccurate to assert that there ever was a “gun culture” in the United Kingdom such as what one can witness in the United States. What is accurate, however, is that once guns started proving harmful when used around children and educators, the country got its act together quickly. The United Kingdom is not an anomaly, either. These laws exist in nearly every other developed nation. The United States, in this regard, is a long way behind the curve. In fact, compared with every other developed country, the United States has the highest guns per 100 people, the highest gun homicide rate, the highest gun suicide rate, and on top of all this, the highest total number of mass shootings in the last fifty years. In those four categories, according to CNN, the following is where the US ranks. United States citizens own 89 firearms per 100 people. The next closest total is Yemen, where they have 55 firearms per 100 people. The US has a higher gun homicide rate than any other wealthy country, recording 36 homicides for every one million people in 2010. The closest nations in this category were Belgium and Canada, each recording 5 per million people. It also has the highest “unintentional, suicides and undetermined” gun death rate, with 66 people per million in 2010. This is precisely double the amount of the next highest, Finland, who recorded 33. And finally, between 1966 and 2016, the United States recorded the most mass shootings of any country in the world. At 90 mass shootings, they lead the way by 72 mass shootings. As a side note, 90 mass shootings accounted for 31 percent of all mass shootings, worldwide, in those 50 years. The argument Republican politician Andre Bauer made on CNN is one that is common for gun rights activists, but also so near-sighted and ethnocentric it is beyond belief. “We have a culture thing here that we’re not discussing,” Bauer said. “When I grew up it was Andy Griffith, and you never had school shootings. And we still had prayer in school, and we drove to school with guns in the car. “Today we are in a different time when the media, not the media, but the movie industry, the rap industry, or radio in general talks about these things that are common now, and we have almost desensitized it.” In short, Bauer has blamed the change in culture in the United States over his lifetime for the tragedies we see today. The problem with this statement however, is that similar changes in culture can be seen all over the world. Take Scotland, for example. As part of the United Kingdom, they stand as one of the United States’ closest allies.

Scotland does not have prayer in school. The same movies that show in the theatres of the United States and the same songs that play on the radio, are also shown and played across the Atlantic. In 2017, Scotland became the first nation in Europe to ban smacking of children as discipline. Schools in Scotland are not staffed with armed security guards. Teachers and educators in Scotland are not armed. Vehicles parked outside of schools in Scotland do not have firearms in them. People in Scotland also suffer from mental health issues. Criminals with malicious intent exist in Scotland. And I’m sorry to say it, Andre Bauer, but Scotland also does not have the Andy Griffith show. Only one difference stands between the United States and Scotland since the last mass shooting was recorded in my home country 22 years ago. The one difference is that we banned guns. This is not a mental health problem. This is not a parenting problem. The problem is not that there are too few guns, too little heart, or too little Andy Griffith. This is a gun problem, an access problem, and a policy problem. This problem only exists because the NRA continues to fill the pockets of Republican lawmakers. America is behind the curve. This problem will not go away until reasonable gun control laws are implemented nationwide, just like they were in the United Kingdom over 20 years ago.

Photo by Rhona Wise / Getty Images

On Feb. 15, 2018 in Parkland, Florida, mourners stand during a candlelight vigil for the 17 victims of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School mass-shooting.

February 21, 2018 | The Clarion

Netflix Review

Arts & Life

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‘Knights of Sidonia’ Season 1: a fast paced entertaining anime By Jordon Morgan

Editor in Chief Being the first anime series that was ever put out by Netflix, “Knights of Sidonia” on paper seems to have all the standard cliches: science fiction premise, humanity on its last legs, an outsider hero ready to save the day, the whole nine yards. Thankfully, the show largely succeeds thanks to its strong storytelling, tightpaced action and interesting characters. Set in the far off future, “Knights of Sidonia” follows the last remnants of humanity who have been nearly destroyed by a mysterious alien force known as the Gauna. Said remnants are hiding out on a massive spaceship named the Sidonia, armed with fighter pilots who operate machines known as Gardes, who must venture out into space every so often to fight approaching Gauna forces. Deep within the massive spaceship, a young man named Nagate Tanikaze, who had been living deep underground in the ship away from the general populace, is discovered and taken to Captain Kobayashi, the highest authority of Sidonia. She asks him to become a Garde pilot as well, believing that he has the skills necessary to become one of Sidonia’s foremost protectors,

an offer that Nagate subsequently agrees to. Much like the Netflix original film “Blame!” (though again this show came out before that film), the animation is somewhat unique in that it blends traditional two-dimensional anime style with three-dimensional CGI. The results, once you get used to them, work quite well. It’s very striking at times and one of the true benefits of the style is that it allows the action, which is very fast paced and could have been hard to follow, to flow smoothly. The action is almost jarring in how fast it is. Being that it takes place in space with highly advanced mech suits, it makes sense and fortunately the show does a great job of making it relatively easy to follow. That is if you’re paying attention. That doesn’t mean the storytelling is any sort of slouch. Through it is a twelve episode season, the show balances back and forth between character development and the aforementioned action scenes. Although the characterization for everyone is fairly standard (Nagate for instance being the gifted outsider who has trouble fitting in), the solid writing make it so that they are all interesting in their own ways. A nagging issue for the series however is its propensity to not explain certain glaring

aspects that desperately need an explanation. For example, there is a character named Lala Hiyama who is essentially a walking sentient bear who everyone interacts with as if its normal. Another weird element is the fact that many humans in this world are able to live off of very little food due to the fact that they can photosynthesize. There are obviously going to be some aspects in science fiction that are outside the bounds of the norm but the issue here is that they aren’t given any sort of explanation, which is especially a problem when you have an outsider character like Nagate which allows a perfectly plausible tool in which to ask these questions. In fact, for Hiyama’s case you would need to look at outside information to learn that she is a human who wears a bear-like life support suit to sustain herself. Perhaps it’s a nitpick but elements such as these that stick out should be given at least a passing mention so as not to continuously baffle the viewer. Setting that aside, “Knights of Sidonia” is still a solid anime that is worth your while. Given that each episode (bar the season finale) is only just over 20 minutes long, it’s easy to watch when you only have a limited amount of time. If you’re a fan of anime, you won’t regret the time you invest.

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Climate Change

Arts & Life

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February 21, 2018

‘Day Zero’ looms in Cape Town, South Africa Severe water shortage a combination of drought and government By Jeni Welch

Copy Editor Cape Town announced last week that the threeyear drought has become a national disaster that is leading South Africa quickly towards “Day Zero.” The drought is drastically affecting three of the nine provinces in the country. “Day Zero” or the day water taps are expected to run dry has been moved back to June 4 from May 11. Water will be cut off to homes and most businesses and left running to the city centre, hospitals and schools. Since the national disaster has finally been declared by the central government, African National Congress (ANC), will take over relief efforts. Minister Descan Rooyen said that $5.8 million has been put aside in assistance. This severe a drought, “would only be expected once every 300 years,” according to Piotr Wolski of the Climate System Analysis Group at the University of Cape Town. While one meteorologist called the phenomenon, “a once-in-628-years weather event.” Normally, the dams are replenished when cold fronts move north from Antarctica and rain on the mountains. On average Cape Town receives 20 inches of rain a year but in 2015 the rainfall was only 12 inches, eight inches in 2016 and a minimal 6 inches in 2017 as reported by the weather station at Cape Town’s airport. Theewaterskloof Dam is the largest and most vital feeder but has been subjected to desertification for a decade and is only holding 11.7 to 12.5 percent of its capacity, which means it is unusable. The drought is not the only factor contributing to “Day Zero’s” approach. The South African government has played, debatably, a larger part. The national government sold farmers, at subsidized prices, much of the water stored in the dams. Almost 40 percent was sold in 2015 even though agriculture makes up only 4 percent of the economy. There are messages going out to residents saying that using more than 50 liters of water is treason while messages to foreign investors say that business is continuing as usual. Cape Town is divided into a developed nation and a developing nation. One side has highways and shopping malls equivalent to any American town and the other side consists of thousands of shacks with a cheap rail system. “Cape Town is both an African city and a European outpost at the bottom of Africa,” writes Richard Poplak for The Atlantic.

Cape Town has a population of 4 million people. Most of the wealthy white population lives in the coastal suburbs while the inhabitants in the flatlands are mostly black and poor. “What is now certain is that Cape Town will become a test case for what happens when climate change, extreme inequality, and partisan political dysfunction collide,” Poplak said. “South Africa is unique when compared to most other African nations because almost ten percent of its population is white,” said Joshua Wilkey, History instructor at Brevard College, currently teaching an European Imperialism and Global Decolonization class. “This is a direct legacy of imperialism. “It also means that South Africa developed a rather rigid and dehumanizing system of segregation – apartheid – that while technically ended in 1991, still shapes South Africa’s demographics.” The Democratic Alliance (DA) has governed the Western Cape, the capital of Cape Town, since 2009. The DA is the official opposition to the ANC. Poplak said, “The DA is a strange beast, a party with a white-dominated federal executive, and, until 2015, a white leader. “There’s a longstanding perception that the party serves the white population’s agenda, described by its enemies as maintaining economic apartheid at the expense of the black advancement.” Half of the Capetonians are using more than their ration of 50 liters (13 gallons) a day. There are stories of neighbors topping off swimming pools while others are already witnessing the flow of water cease to exist. “The wealthy will continue to have clean water to drink. Others might not,” Wilkey said. “Ultimately, though those who will be hurt most by this water crisis on “Day Zero” are people of color, and developed nations have a pretty terrible track record of addressing crises that impact only those communities inhabited by

people of color.” In the U.S. this can be seen in Flint, Michigan and Cancer Alley located in Louisiana. Approximately 200 sites are being called the “water pick-up point system” where 25 liters will be distributed to 20,000 eligible residents a day according to The Atlantic. “The risk grading will be done in accordance with the volume of people expected to pass through each water collection point, as well as the general crime trends in each area,” Richard Bosman, the city’s Executive Director for Safety and Security said. “Cape Town does have a number of gang hot spots and so this would be a crucial factor in determining whether a collection point is considered low or high risk.” Currently, Patricia De Lille, Cape Town’s executive mayor, has been accused of mismanagement and corruption. She survived a no-confidence vote 108 to 44 last week but the disciplinary processes against her are expected to continue until the end of March. “In the U.S., even if we disagree about who is to blame, there’s often a general understanding that the government is answerable to the people and plays a role in addressing things like water crisis,” Wilkey said. Cape Town is not alone in drought. In the U.S., Los Angeles made efforts to limit water evaporation by pouring 90 million black plastic balls into the Los Angeles Reservoir. Mexico City, Tokyo and Delhi are some of the more “water stressed” areas in the world. Barcelona came close in 2008 and San Paulo is teetering “on the brink.” What is to be done after “Day Zero” is unknown. “This all leads us, of course, to an incredibly important question,” Wilkey said. “We must decide whether or not water is a basic human right or whether it is simply an asset to be privatized, owned, bought and sold. Our decision about this question will greatly influence our approach to this and future water crisis.”

Photo by Mike Hutchings / Reuters

A family negotiates their way through caked mud around a dried up section of the Theewaterskloof dam near Cape Town, South Africa on Jan. 20, 2018.

February 21, 2018 | The Clarion

Experiential Education

Arts & Life

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‘Mini-LINC’ science and religion class visit Center for Spiritual Wisdom in Brevard

Editor’s note: The following article was contributed by members of the LNC 291 class, taught by professors Mel Bringle and Bob Cabin.

On January 31, this semester’s LNC 291 class on Science, Religion and Spirituality took a mini-retreat to the Center for Spiritual Wisdom in Brevard. Located just half a mile from campus in the Elk Haven Wellness Center on Elks Club Road, the Center describes itself as “a comprehensive resource for teaching spiritual practices as tools of transformation for the common good.” The two hour retreat was led by Dr. Tom Lewis, former Director of Spirituality at Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur, Georgia. Funds to support the retreat came from a grant awarded by the Brevard College Pedagogies initiative. Dr. Lewis began the day by sharing the story of his journey from hard-driving businessman devoted to material success to discovering his spiritual hunger. This hunger led him to abandon his career and enter seminary, training for the ministry. After serving many churches (“the hardest work I ever did,” he reported) he returned to seminary, but this time to teach spirituality and help other people on their paths toward wholeness. The retreat introduced a number of practices shared by the world’s spiritual traditions, like silence and meditation. One participant, student Gaby Lachney commented, “I loved how introspective our activities were and how surprisingly hard it was to commit to silence.” Others remarked on the practice of lectio divina (“divine reading”), developed by monks in the 12th century which focuses on slow and contemplative reading of a short passage several times, listening each time for the specific words that stand ou to each listener. While lectio divina is typically done using passages of scripture, Dr. Lewis chose to honor the multiplicity of religious and non-religious perspectives represented among the participants by using a poem from Mary Oliver, “When I Am Among the Trees.” For the majority of the 15 students who attended the retreat, the highlight was the practice of “mindful eating.” Dr. Bob Cabin, one of the instructors for the class brought a bag of homemade sun dried tomatoes for the occasion. The other instructor, Dr. Mel Bringle, led the group through a process of attending closely to the food approaching it in multiple sensory ways in order to savor it fully. From this experiment,

the class proceeded to eat a meal together, again in total silence attending to the sensory experience of eating and to gratitude for the gift of food. Several students have since noted that they continue to recall this practice when they are in the dining hall, taking more time to think about the food they are consuming. Gavrielle Griffin added, “The fact that the professors took the time to make food for us was very special. I really liked that we all ate and sat together.” Overall, students and instructors alike concluded that getting off campus together made for an enjoyable bonding experience, and a good introduction to the riches of spirituality. LNC 291, “Science, Religion, and Spirituality” is the pioneer “mini-LINC” course being offered this spring at Brevard College. Through this mini-LINC program, students now have the option of fulfilling the general

education requirement for participating in a linked learning community in two different ways. As in the past, they may take two “K” courses that are linked together in the same semester, amounting to a single 6-credit bloc course (for example, ENG 211K, Introduction to Film, coupled with MUS 101K, Music Appreciation). Or if they have difficulty working a 6- credit bloc into their schedules they may now follow the new option of taking two different interdisciplinary, team-taught 3-credit “mini-LINC” courses potentially in different semesters. Two more mini-LINCs will be piloted in the fall of 2018: one on “Fermentation,” taught by professors Maureen Drinkard (Environmental Science) and Sarah Maveety (Biology); and one on “Threats to Music and Meaning,” taught by professors Vance Reese (Music) and Mel Bringle (Religion and Philosophy).

BC Theatre presents ‘Brother Wolf’ By Madison Ramsey

Staff Writer Starting at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 22, BC Theater will showcase their production of “Brother Wolf,” a musical that has original music by Lauren Dossett and is adapted by Preston Lane. The show will take place in the Black Box Theatre in The Porter Center. Other performances will be on Feb. 23 and 24 at 7 p.m., and also on Feb 25 at 2:30 p.m. Tickets cost $5 for students and $10 for adults and can be purchased online at www.etix.com or in the box office thirty minutes before each show. “Brother Wolf” is an Appalachian take on the classic story of Beowulf and incorporates storytelling, religion, and a handful of traditional folklore and music that culminates into an adventure of epic proportions. “The play is a pure form of storytelling,” said director Peter Savage. “My hope is that audiences will not only feel like they had a powerful visual experience, but they that they will find a personal connection to the character’s fates.” Brother Wolf (played by John Pate), a mountain man and preacher, arrives at the Speardane’s church, only to find that a monster by the name of Gren Dell (played by Michal Phillips) has awakened and is wreaking havoc. When he decides to lend a hand, events spiral out of control in what can only be described as a story of loss, revenge and eventual forgiveness.

Lily Bartleson said that while the play was becoming one her favorite productions to perform here at Brevard College, “I know at first I was really skeptical because whenever someone says ‘Hey, let’s do a musical,’ you don’t think of something like this, of this genre.” She also said that working with other performers who has the same passion “makes the job easier because they’re as motivated and inspired by the story as I am, and it’s kind of awesome.” John Pate, a Wilderness Leadership and Experiential Education and Theatre double major, said while his experiences with WLEE help him portray Brother Wolf because he’s been to some of the locations mentioned in the play, he’s always asked to go outside of his comfort zone in some other way. “John is always great to work with.” Bartleson said. “He’s always the guy that tries different things, and the director will say, ‘Oh, I didn’t even think of that.’” Even though Savage said he is fortunate to have such a talented cast, as a director, he has had a challenge with this play because he usually directs straight forward dramas that are more based in realism. “This play is a classic, round-the-campfire type of story and there is magic and mystery in the visual elements of the piece,” he said. “I have enjoyed tapping into these creative aspects in my work.”

Sports

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Latest win moves MLAX to 3-1 start

This past Saturday Men’s Lacrosse was able to clench a win at home against conference opponents Randolph College from Lynchburg, Virginia. The win capped off a busy two week period in which the team had games on every Saturday and Wednesday in preparation for conference play. Randolph came out hot at the start of the game, netting a goal within four seconds of the starting whistle. Brevard was able to score later in the first from a goal by midfielder Jack Shade. By halftime Brevard had a 5-2 lead. The Tornados came out hot in the second half of the game, allowing the Wildcats to score only two goals. Meanwhile, the Tornados offense dominated and was able to net seven more goals. The win moved Brevard’s record to 3-1 heading into conference play, already one win over last years 2-14 record. The team travels to Alabama this weekend to face Huntingdon, in hopes of avenging their 11-7 loss last year. Huntingdon will come into the game undefeated.

—Daniel Ramos

Hillbillies

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proceeded to give us the dictionary definition of poverty, which is: A region where jobs are limited and where a college education has not been required for most available jobs. When trying to put ‘poverty is abstract’ into a meaning, I had to turn to my FYE TA, Lily Bartleson, who said: “Personally, when I see the phrase ‘poverty is abstract’, it means that the education of students in poverty is less important in some areas.” Wilkey talked about the stereotypes surrounding being a ‘hillbilly’, and why they were so damaging. He showed us a photograph of Popcorn Sutton, a moonshiner, and another man who was sporting rebel flags, shirtless. He then showed us how the media portrays hillbillies: a man, in a baseball cap, in overalls, with long hair and a few other ridiculously stereotypical notions. While some people are like the stereotype, not everyone is. I know I’m not. All in all, I think that this forum should have been advertised more heavily, because while the room was full, more people outside of the education department should attend, and learn about the subject. I leave you with my favorite quote from Wilkey: “Poverty is not destiny.”

The Clarion

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February 21, 2018

BC Tornados tennis fall to Pfeiffer University

On Friday, Feb. 16, BC Tornados men’s and women’s tennis teams lost to Pfeiffer University with a final score of 6-3 in women´s and 8-1 in men´s. This is after they fell to Belmont Abbey in their last appearance on Feb. 14. Brevard College Tennis teams are still looking for the first victory of the season. In BC Tornados men’s Tennis, Tom Mittring got the single win for the men´s in the single game with a score of 6-4 and 6-0. But Pfeiffer got the victory in the other five games In the doubles games, the Tornados also had an unfavorable exhibition and they lost all three games by a score of 8-5, 8-1 and 8-6 respectively. In one of the singles games, Brevard lost 3-0 partially due to the fact that

Will Christiansen was forced to leave the game after have a thigh injury. Elsewhere in the women’s Tennis team, a win by two points in the singles was earned by way of Mekenzie Bowman, who got the first win in her collegiate career. Carmen Boone also had her first victory in the season, although the BC women’s tennis still unfortunately lost by a score of 6-3, getting one more victory in the doubles with Carmen Boone and Hannah Spear winning by a score of 9-7. The Brevard College Tennis team will go back to action on Monday, Feb. 19 against Spartanburg Methodist College in Brevard at 1 p.m.

— Matheus Masukawa

Brevard Crushers chalked up success in Cullowhee By Jon Cole

Sports Information Director Caroline Safford placed in the top five in the women’s competition, with Matthew Stephens, Nathan Boepple, Will Christiansen, and Jordan Haak placing in the top 15 on the men’s side in the Rock and Rumble competition in Cullowhee over the weekend. Safford scored 8800, as she placed fifth out of 20 climbers in the women’s bouldering event. The sophomore flashed four of her five climbs, which now adds to her total of nine competition flashes in her two bouldering events on the season. Stephens, who missed the Brevard Boulder Bash due to injury, finished second overall with a score of 17500, which marks his best collegiate performance in a bouldering competition. Boepple, Christiansen and Haak placed 11th, 12th and 13th respectively, as the trio combined for 35500 points on the day. Coach Travis Gray said this competition was the best showing from the team in the two years he has been at the helm of the program. “This is the first competition of the last two seasons that I truly feel the team is coming together and living up to their fullest potential and abilities,” said Gray. The Crushers’ next competition will be the Appalachian Regional Championship

in Nashville, Tenn., as the team will look to defend their Regional Champions title from the 2017 season.

Caroline Safford