T r i a n g l eby Allison mcleAn

Editor-in-chiEf

& KAity KopesKionlinE Editor

three Bryan students drove to Knoxville Sunday, March

28, planning to purchase a Playstation 3 for $210 off craigslist.com. they wound up paying far more than they bargained for.

Senior Andrew Slikker, junior Johnny cannon and sophomore Victor Underwood arrived at Scottish Pike Park in Knoxville at 6 p.m., as instruct-ed by a man who called himself Jeremy. they then waited an hour for him to arrive.

“We were cutting up and having a good time…and jok-ing around about all the things that could go wrong and the reasons why we should leave,” Slikker said tuesday.

he admitted that they joked about the possibility of being robbed but felt safe because they were in a public

area. When Jeremy arrived, the

students got out of their car and noticed Jeremy pulling a Playstation box from his car.

Meanwhile, Slikker noticed a man wearing a ball cap and a dark hooded sweatshirt pulled tight around his face approach-ing them from behind.

“i knew as soon as i saw him it was going to happen,” Slikker said.

the man pulled a gun from his sweatshirt, putting it to cannon’s back and forcing him to the ground. the gun-man yelled for the other stu-dents to get on the ground and empty their pockets.

Jeremy then accused the students of setting up the rob-bery.

“Yeah, that’s why he’s rob-bing us and not you,” Slikker responded.

t h e g u n m a n s t o l e cannon’s and Underwood’s wallets, Underwood’s keys and the $210 that Slikker brought for the Playstation.

the gunman then ran off

around the corner. According to Slikker,

Jeremy yelled, “i’m going after him,” and sped away in his car in the same direction as the gunman.

the students learned from a witness that the gunman got into Jeremy’s car around the

corner—when they were out of the students’ view.

the police apprehended Jeremy, whose real name is John White.

Although the students pos-itively identified White

Robbery 3

Students evaluate Junior-Senior budget

the bryan college

ApRil 8, 2010 Vol. XXXI • No. 7

Curriculum redesign

neWs 2

Bryan student sets new school record

spoRts 5

Snoozers lose the couch?

FeAtURes 3

The Churchopinion 8

Three Bryan students robbed

by KAity KopesKionlinE Editor

A few days ago i walked into a room and posed this question: “What

do you think about Junior-Senior Banquet having a $12,000 to $15,000 budget?” initial reactions were a bit incredulous.

“really? twelve thousand dollars? Where does all that money go? isn’t that a waste?”

this reaction to hear-ing the Junior-Senior budget seems to be the norm across campus. Every year, students outside SGA, and occasion-ally inside SGA, suggest the idea of cutting the budget and

donating money to charities. While next year’s Junior-

Senior is still a full year off, the Junior class SGA officers-elect are already discussing this issue.

J u n i o r c l a s s V i c e President-elect Sarah Becker said she would love to cut the Junior-Senior budget and donate to charities. however, making that a reality relies on changing students’ expecta-tions of Junior-Senior.

“Junior-Senior has a big expectation,” Becker said,

“the way it is, we can’t change Junior-Senior without upset-ting many people on campus.”

these “expecta t ions” include travelling off campus,

having a night banquet and going to multiple venues.

once you account for all those expenses, the large bud-get dwindles quickly.

A c c o r d i n g t o V i c e President of on-campus Events olivia Pool, the bud-get breakdown for last year’s Junior-Senior was this:

$12,227- Money given by school

$16,552- total budget after ticket sales

$8,938- dinner, catering, venue, decor and dinner enter-tainment

$4,469- transportation $1,820- laser tag, rental

of basketball courts, rental of skates and a skating rink, hir-

ing of a caller for square danc-ing and breakfast

SGA was $1,324 under budget.

While the number may still seem large, Pool said for an institution like Bryan, it actually isn’t.

“What do you think the Athletic department spends in a year? What do you think the school spends cooling our dorms for a day? What do you think we spend on main-tenance of the grounds for a month? What do you think that the cafeteria spends on desserts in a year? Why not eliminate any of these expens-es?” Pool asked.

Budget 3

Page 2 The Bryan College TriangleApril 8 , 2010 NewsCurriculum redesign gives students new choicesby CATHERINE ROGERS

STAFF WRITER

When you became a Bryan student, you entered into

a contract between yourself and Bryan College, agreeing to meet their guidelines and requirements in exchange for a degree. That contract is known as the course cata-log, and that catalog is about to change.

The faculty will be voting on the General Education Core Curriculum for the 2010 Catalog this month, according to Vice President of Academics Dr. Bradford Sample. These changes will become official for incoming students on July 1.

“To give more flexibility to students in terms of choic-es is basically what we’re try-ing to do,” said Sample.

What does this mean for current Bryan students? An opportunity for two things:

fewer credit hours required for general education and more course opt ions to choose from within those requirements.

Currently, Bryan offers one core curriculum for all students, but the com-ing changes wil l provide two—one for those studying toward a Bachelor of Science degree (B.S.) and another for those aiming at a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.).

Professor of Mathematics Dr. Phil Lestmann is chair of the committee that has been working on these changes for almost two years. He said that the purpose of these changes is “to make a dis-tinction between a B.A. and B.S. degree.”

This d i s t inct ion wi l l bring the general educa-t i o n r e q u i r e m e n t s “ t o more national norms,” said Sample.

S a m p l e e x p l a i n e d , “Traditionally, a B.A. and

B.S. are ‘inverted versions of each other’.”

A B.A. should be broader in its general requirements and more limited in its focus on a major whereas a B.S. focuses more of its credit hours on a specific area of study.

Currently, Bryan general e d u c a t i o n r e q u i r e m e n t s consume 60-74 credit hours

of the 124 needed to graduate. The proposal for the new requirements will call for 46 credit hours for a B.S. and 68 for a B.A. As a result, this new contract leaves a B.A., for example, with18-24 credit hours completely free after 68 are used for general education and 30-36 towards a major.

So, the first advantage of the new catalog is that more credit hours are left available for students to use toward personalizing their degree whether it include taking another major, adding a minor or a combination of the two.

Lestmann said, “we’re t r y i n g t o c r e a t e m o r e flexibility to help students in their planning, which should be especially helpful to transfer students who find it very difficult to fit all our requirements into two or three years.”

T h e f l e x i b i l i t y t h a t Lestmann mentioned is not just in regard to the number of required general education courses but also to the number of courses you must take.

For example, currently all students must take Intro to Fine Arts. In the proposed B.S. core, that could be replaced by a category for Creative Arts where students can choose between Intro to Fine Arts, Music Appreciation, Intro to Theater, Medium of Film and Intro to Literature. This

is just one example of many similar changes.

The second advantage of the new catalog is that there will be more options of classes to choose from within the core curriculum.

As of now, the committee chaired by Lestmann has made a recommendation to the faculty about these changes to Bryan’s core curriculum. The faculty is in the process of configuring amendments to the proposed changes and wi l l decide through a vote how they will be implemented into Bryan’s 2010 catalog at two meetings scheduled for April 16 and 30.

Students will be informed towards the end of this semester o f the o f f i c ia l changes and will be asked late next semester to declare which catalog they wish to use.

If you change catalogs, you change contracts, which include both requirements for core curriculum as well as for majors and minors. Your decision will be permanent, and the catalog you choose will be taken as a whole—t h a t m e a n s n o p i c k i n g and choosing from both catalogs—and once you pick you can’t change your mind.

A c c o r d i n g t o D r . Lestmann, the changes to core curriculum “should be very, very helpful.” So, choose wisely!

Page 3BryanTriangle.comApril 8, 2010 Features

Robbery continued from page 1

and accused him of being an accessory in the robbery, White claimed that the gun-man also robbed him.

The police found a man fitting the descrip-tion of the gunman at White’s house.

However, because the s tudents were

unable to positively identify the man from White’s house as the gunman, the police said they did not have e n o u g h “ p r o b a b l e cause” to search White’s car or house.

“ S o , t h e g u y s walked,” Slikker said.

The students heard a police officer say that the unidentified man, fitting the descrip-tion of the gunman, is on parole for second-degree murder.

“The worst part,” Slikker said, “is the embarrassment of letting it happen.”

When asked if he had any advice for future Craigslist users, Slikker said with a smirk, “Meet at the police sta-tion.”

Budget cont’d from page 1

“Because they change strength or contribute in dif-ferent ways to the experience of Bryan College,” Pool said.

In the same way, Pool believes Junior-Senior is an event that has its own irreplace-able value.

Many students don’t know the purpose of Junior-Senior, so they don’t understand why it has a big budget, said Amelia Pool, Olivia’s sister and junior class vice president.

“The seniors have poured out the last four years of their lives and this is a way to say thank you for that,” Amelia Pool said.

She compares Junior-Senior to an engagement ring.

“Junior-Senior exists to be a symbol of value. It’s worth the money,” she said.

Becker said she sees the value of Junior-Senior, but she is still trying to find ways to save money without compro-mising the event.

One way is to connect with alumni and encourage dona-tions for Junior-Senior, Becker said.

Ultimately, Becker said, her job is to plan an event that students want.

“If we ran a poll and peo-ple said we want to go bowling, we would go bowling,” Becker said.

Amelia Pool said she appre-ciates the students asking ques-tions about Junior-Senior and challenging the “status quo.” Bryan doesn’t want to keep an event just for tradition’s sake.

“Sometimes traditions are irrelevant,” she said. “But right now Junior-Senior is relevant and important.”

by MADDIE DOUCETSTAFF PHOTOgrAPHer

The rumor that the Student government Association (SgA) had

taken a student’s shoes while sleeping on the big couch in the Lion’s Den was nothing more than a misunderstand-ing, according to Freshman Class Senator, Peter Boyajian.

“Someone else took his shoes, and while they were gone we left him a note saying we didn’t want people sleep-ing on the couch any more. You know, we didn’t want to wake him up,” said Boyajian. “But then, when his shoes were returned, there was the note right beside them.”

The short-lived rumor raised questions in students’ minds about the “no sleeping” rule for the big couch.

Some have been told by other students that the SgA has made a new rule, prohibiting sleeping in the Lion’s Den and the game room. Several stu-dents have been asked individ-ually by a member of the SgA

not to sleep on the big couch.“Last I checked, any one

member of the SgA has no authority,” said junior Peter Fastenau.

Collectively, the SgA does have jurisdiction over the Lion’s Den and the game room, according to junior Tori Stewart, current student body vice president.

Stewart said the issue was not just people napping on the couch, but the inconvenience it causes for other students. She said it can be frustrating when one person occupies the couch for several hours while other students would enjoy being able to use it.

“When we talked to the Office of Student Life, they said it was up to us to handle this sit-uation. They can step in if they have to, but they’d prefer not to. When we discussed it in the Senate, we basically said we’re not going to put a hard and fast rule down. We just want to make sure people are consider-ate of others,” Stewart said.

Dean of Students Bruce Morgan said he doesn’t see it

as a “big issue.” Morgan said he received

an email from a member of the SgA requesting that a rule be made to prevent students from sleeping in the Lion’s Den or the game room. Morgan instead recommended the SgA approach students individually about the situation.

“I think there ought to be an announcement if they want to make it a rule,” said sopho-more T.J. Wilson. “[SgA’s] rea-soning is that people would feel singled out by an announce-ment or a sign, but that seems kind of backwards. I think peo-ple feel singled out if they get singled out and asked not to

sleep on the couch.”Wilson added, “It’s not

really something to get upset about,” saying that he doesn’t care what the SgA decides to do but would like to see clarity and consistency in the situa-tion.

“We don’t want to make a big book of rules,” said Stewart.

No more sleeping on the big couch

PHOTO OF THE MONTH

by Mark Sauve

Taken for Digital Imaging with Assistant Professor of Communication Studies Chris Clark

TRIANGLE PHOTO BY STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER MAddIE dOucET IStudent sleeps on couch in the Lion’s Den.

Page 4 The Bryan College TriangleApril 8, 2010Features

“You have a girlfriend now. We can’t cuddle anymore.”- Junior Elijah Ammen to

junior Chad Byers

“My crap is the same as your crap. But regardless, it’s still

crap!”- Dr. Drew Randle

“Sounds like something a hillbilly would get his girl-

friend.”- Junior Ben Andrews on

chocolate bacon

“Ben Norquist has more knowledge in his head than I will ever have in my pinky

finger.”- Dr. Stephen D. Livesay dur-

ing chapel

“Guns and girls is the only rea-son I’m still here!”

- Junior Caleb Young on why he chooses to stay in school

“You’re skinny as an apple.” - Sophomore Chris Leary to

freshman Erin Wright

“This one time I went to prison...”

-Senior Eddie Davila giv-ing an example of prision

ministry during Dr. Turner’s Hebrews & Biblical Theology

class

“Write that down! Send it to the paper!”

-Dr. Turner about Eddie’s comment above

“Decaf is a sin.”- Senior Andrew Davis

SEND YOUR FAVORITE QUOTES TO:triangle@bryan.edu

Dayton mayor declares trafficking awareness week

Off the record. . .

by LANA DOUGLAS STAFF WRITER

Human trafficking. Statistics for Dayton, Tenn.: unknown. The

statistics are unknown because citizens of Dayton may not rec-ognize what human trafficking is, not because it does not exist.

Most people don’t realize that human trafficking is hap-pening because it has never been defined for them, said junior Andrew McPeak, president of Students Stopping Trafficking of People (SSTOP).

T h e U n i t e d N a t i o n s C o n v e n t i o n A g a i n s t Transnational Organized Crime defines human traffick-ing as “the recruitment, trans-portation, transfer, harboring or receipt of persons, by means of the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of decep-tion, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of pay-ments or benefits to achieve the

consent of a person having con-trol over another person, for the purpose of exploitation.”

On March 25, Bob Vincent, mayor of Dayton, declared March 28 – April 4 to be “Human Trafficking Awareness Week.”

Vincent said he was unclear about how human trafficking affected Dayton before he was approached about issuing this proclamation.

In order to promote aware-ness Vincent said that we must first have a clear definition of what trafficking is.

McPeak likes to define traf-ficking as simply one person exercising their power to take away freedom from another.

SSTOP is working with 47 businesses around Dayton to post flyers and information sheets on how human traffick-ing affects people in Tennessee, said Cami Plaisted, an execu-tive leader of SSTOP and vice president of marketing for SIFE (Students in Free Enterprise).

“No one knows the number of victims of human trafficking

in Tennessee; that is why we need to increase awareness,” Plaisted said.

Our hope is that people will contact the Dayton Police or the international hotline if they suspect a trafficking incident, McPeak said.

In order for the police department to become more active about stopping human

trafficking, the community must make it a priority, accord-ing to McPeak.

However, according to Vincent, the local police depart-ment cannot act unless a law has been broken.

Human trafficking aware-ness has just begun in our com-munity, said Vincent.

To report an incident,

contact the National Human Trafficking Resource Center hotline at 888-373-7888. For more information on human trafficking, visit these suggested websites:

www.notforsalecampaign.org, http://www.polarispro-ject.org/, www.humantraffick-inged.com, http://nhtrc.polar-isproject.org/

Senior wills

TRIANGLE PHOTO BY STAFF wRITER LANA dOuGLAS

Bob Vincent, mayor of Dayton, declares March 28-April 4 “Human Trafficking Awareness Week.”

by BRITNEY WEBERSENIOR STAFF WRITER

Every year at the Junior-Senior ban-quet, seniors are given

the chance to express their sentiment for the classmates and friends they will be leav-ing after graduation in a few short weeks. From sage wis-dom to esoteric jokes, these wills contain snapshots of the best memories seniors hold from the past four years of their lives.

A l u m n u s J e r e m i a h Nasiatka, a 2009 graduate and former editor-in-chief of the Triangle, left the Triangle to Allison McLean, the cur-rent editor-in-chief. He also left the responsibility of teaching people how to pro-nounce his last name to his younger sister, sophomore Carlin Nasiatka.

Faith Ammen, who also graduated in 2009, left her younger brother , junior Elijah Ammen, sole control of the iPod® when driving to church.

This year, Bailey Payne is leaving a Speedo® to Josh Bradley.

Wills are submitted dur-ing the weeks before Junior-Senior banquet and compiled into a single, classy document to be handed out to those in attendance at Junior-Senior.

Though most wills are written to the underclass-men, recipients also include close friends, as well as pro-fessors.

Senior wills provide the perfect closure to four years wrought with friendships, inside jokes and laughter.

To see the wills of current seniors, visit BryanTriangle.com next week.

Page 5BryanTriangle.comApril 8, 2010 SportsLions’ baseball team mauls Tennessee Temple 16 -6

by BILLY FINDLEYSporTS EdiTor

The Lions baseball team thoroughly dis-mantled the Crusaders

of Tennessee Temple (Chattanooga, Tenn.) 16 – 6 Tuesday evening. With this victory, the Lions now have

16 wins and 23 losses for their overall record. They are 7 – 8 in the AAC. At bat, the Lions were a force Tuesday night. The team finished the game with 22 hits and two home runs and 16 runs scored. This is the second highest total of runs they’ve scored in a game this season.

“We really manufactured runs tonight,” Head Coach Taylor Hasty said after the game. “i think our team is really dangerous because we can really hit.” The game was close for the first three innings with Tennessee Temple ahead just 2 – 1. However, the Lions were

able to make a break away in the bottom of the third with junior outfielder Josh King pounding a home run with two men on base. The Lions continued the surge and were leading 12 – 4 by the end of the fifth inning. defensively, the team stood their ground, turning a “huge” dou-ble play at the top of the sixth, according to Hasty. one strength Hasty said he has observed with the team this year is their concern for each other on the field. “This team really loves each other,” Hasty said. “They are passion-ate about seeing one

another succeed.” “We’re just like brothers out there,” sophomore out-fielder Shane Clawson said. Clawson said he, like Hasty, has observed the team chemis-try and commented that it is important as players to know “we’ve got each other’s back.”With only 15 games left in the season, the Lions are cur-rently ranked fifth in the AAC. However, as nice as it may be to land a good seat in the play-offs, placing well in the tourna-ment is still not a primary goal just yet, according to Clawson. King said the team likes to take things just one at a time. The strengths of the team have undoubtedly come

through in their hitting, accord-ing to King. He said he thinks the batting coaches deserve a lot of credit this season for helping the hitters to shine at the plate. overall the baseball team has played exceptionally better this year than last, according to Hasty. Hasty said he attributes the better playing, not to men-tion much better record, sim-ply to better playing all around in the game and he expects to see good results throughout the rest of the season.

T h e L i o n s w i l l h o s t Milligan College (Tenn.), currently ranked first place in the AAC, this Friday and Saturday, April 9 – 10.

by TIM BALDI STAFF WriTEr

AAC runner-up in the 2009 outdoor 1,500 meter dash, sopho-

more Bryson Harper has been running track since eighth

grade. He trained himself through high school but never experienced hardcore train-ing until he was recruited by Head-Coach rodney Stoker to run track and cross country for Bryan College. Now, Harper runs a 3 minute 59 second 1500-meter dash and set the school record with his 15:05 5-kilometer run. At practice, Harper and the other members of the Track & Field team regularly run seven to 11 miles. However, Harper has been recovering from an injury to his left Achilles ten-don that occurred early in the semester, so he is still working

toward full running strength.Harper had injured his right Achilles once already prior to his current injury this semes-ter. He said he has been more prone to injury since coming to Bryan, “not because Coach Stoker does anything wrong. i just have a tendency to keep pushing when my body needs a rest.” Team practices begin at 6 a.m. on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, and Harper also has practice every day in the afternoons. once a week, one of these daily practices will be a long run. This run is measured by

time rather than by distance, said Harper, this way the ath-letes can run further on their good days, but take it easier when their bodies need rest. “outside of practice, all the little things keep me fit for running,” said Harper, “i have to watch what i’m doing to my body.” This includes going to the training room, taking a daily ice bath, and generally going to bed before 10 p.m. Harper manages his diet by avoiding most junk food. Harper has loved running ever since his father signed him up for a one-mile fun run when he was 9 years old.

Even though the run was not a major competition, Harper continued to participate in the fun run as he got older. “i don’t think anyone on the team would do what we do if we didn’t love it,” said Harper. The team has already run at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, TN and Wake Forest University in Salem, NC. Harper still has five track competitions before the sea-son ends in June. His goal is to qualify for Nationals and see how well he can perform there and improve his five kilometer run.

Triangle PhoTo by SPorTS ediTor billy Findley . Senior second-baseman Ryan Henn takes a hard swing against Tennessee Temple at the bottom of the fifth inning Tuesday night. The Lions had a

total of 22 hits Tuesday night.

Triangle PhoTo by SPorTS ediTor billy Findley

Sophomore runner sets new school record

Page 6 The Bryan College TriangleApril 8 , 2010

‘Man of La Mancha’ previewby ERICKA SIMPSON

STAff wriTer

Spring 2008: Junior robert ethan Hargraves auditioned his freshman

year for the musical “Man of La Mancha,” which requires a minimum of 12 male actors and two large choruses. Only five males showed up to the audition, and two of them had technically graduated, according to Hargraves. The musical never made it to the stage that year.

The musical is based on the 1959 play “i, Don Quixote” by Dale wasserman, which was inspired by Miguel de Cervantes’ 17th century book “Don Quixote.” Music was composed by Mitch Leigh with lyrics by Joe Darion. Hargraves said that a lack of male interest in theater can present an obstacle to certain productions because some men would deem it “slightly foppish,” as they also would genuine ballroom dancing.

for the most part, Bryan College’s Hilltop Players have not struggled casting male roles, according to Associate

Professor of Communication Studies Bernie Belisle. He said that particular year they had already staged two musicals, and the male actors who had the singing voices and could have played the parts were not willing to commit the time that the musical would require.

even though plays take commitment and flexibility, musicals require more out of the actors and actresses because they have to sing, act and sometimes dance, accord-ing to Belisle.

“i just put it on the back burner and said, ‘we’ll do it some day when we have the people to do it,’” Belisle said.

Spring 2010: Hargraves once again auditioned for “Man of La Mancha” and landed a lead role as a char-acter who doubles as both the manservant and Sancho Panza. The timing was right for the musical because the right number of males audi-tioned with the talent to per-form it.

“The musical is played out as a play within a play, with Cervantes and his man-servant acting out the story of Don Quixote to their fellow

prisoners,” Hargraves said. Don Quixote tries to

“right all wrongs” and views the other characters in the best possible light, accord-ing to Belisle. when Quixote encounters a prostitute at an inn, he calls her his “honorable lady.” even though she is not, she becomes how he views her because of his influence.

Belisle said that he has always l iked the musical because of its redemptive message. it is about the “pow-er of seeing people in the best possible light despite their depravity.”

“i kind of compare it to how God sees us,” he said. “He sees the good in us. He sees the possibilities in us even though we are fallen creatures.”

The cast and crew prac-tice every Monday through Thursday from 7-10 p.m.

At f irst the cast was uncomfortable with the “infa-mous rape scene,” accord-ing to freshman Aaron Hunt, who plays the part of Juan the Muleteer. Juan’s most impor-tant responsibility is making clip-clop sounds when the pretend horses are galloping.

“Thanks to Mr. B, the scene is not working out any-

thing like a rape scenario,” he said. “i don’t know anyone who is uncomfortable with it now.”

The set, which is a dun-geon, is “elaborate and com-plicated,” according to Hunt, because large portions of the cast have to navigate it at one time.

Hargraves agreed that the set has proved to be a slight obstacle with portions of it

being 15 feet high. “The challenge will be

ending production week with no causalities,” he said. “Knock on wood.”

The musical will be per-formed April 16-18 at 7:30 p.m. in rudd Auditorium.

Tickets went on sale wednesday, April 7, at 12 -4:30 p.m. in the box office. The cost will be $6 for Bryan students, faculty and staff.

features

Triangle phoTo by sTaff phoTographer Maddie douceTSophomore T.J. Wilson and junior Jason Hundley rehearse for

next Friday’s performance.

Page 7BryanTriangle.comApril 8, 2010 Arts & EntertainmentBroad Street Film Festival nominees

Best Production DesignAnimals (Bryan: Bryan Boling)I Am A Stone (Covenant: Drew Belz)Maxwell Beasley’s Heart (Bryan: Bryan Boling)

Best EditingAnimals (Bryan: Joseph Demme, Colton Davie)First Zombie Movie Ever (Chattanooga State: Micah Horvath and Ryan Hixson)Get It Started (Southern: Ben Chase)I Am A Stone (Covenant: Drew Belz)Maxwell Beasley’s Heart (Bryan: Jordan Pilgrim and Bryan Saylor)The Post (Covenant: Ian Pratt)

Best Original ScoreMaxwell Beasley’s Heart (Bryan: Daniel Paul Lawson)The TV (Southern: Jonathan Corbett)

Best Music VideoGet It Started (Southern: Ben Chase)I Am A Stone (Covenant: Drew Belz) Meow (Covenant: Isaiah Smallman)

Best DocumentaryAlmost Space (Bryan: Bryce James McGuire)The Bryan Fire: Ten Years After (Bryan: Steven Franklin)

Best ScreenplayAnimals (Bryan: Elijah Ammen, Colton Davie, Bryce James McGuire)The Committee of Doom (UTC: Chandler Gilbert, Chaz Holley, and Jimmy Sowell)Dukes of Leon (Covenant: Ian Pratt)Maxwell Beasley’s Heart (Bryan: Jordan Pilgrim and Bryan Saylor)The Post (Covenant: Ian Pratt)

Best ActorAnimals (Bryan: Cameron Lane)The Committee of Doom (UTC: Chaz Holley)Maxwell Beasley’s Heart (Bryan: Josh Bogle)Project_Zend (Bryan: Jason Bowers)

Best ActressAnimals (Bryan: Tori Woodson)Maxwell Beasley’s Heart (Bryan: Kaity Kopeski)Project_Zend (Bryan: Rachel Solid)

Best CinematographyAnimals (Bryan: Colton Davie, Jordan Pilgrim)Get It Started (Southern: Sahale Jenson)I Am A Stone (Covenant: Drew Belz)Maxwell Beasley’s Heart (Bryan: Jordan Pilgrim)The TV (Southern: Cory Maracle)

Best DirectorAnimals (Bryan: Phillip Johnston, Colton Davie, Bryce James McGuire)The Committee of Doom (UTC: Chandler Gilbert)Maxwell Beasley’s Heart (Bryan: Jordan Pilgrim and Bryan Saylor)The Post (Covenant: Ian Pratt)

Best PictureAnimals (Bryan: Phillip Johnston, Colton Davie, Bryce James McGuire)The Committee of Doom (UTC: Chandler Gilbert)Maxwell Beasley’s Heart (Bryan: Jordan Pilgrim and Bryan Saylor)The Post (Covenant: Ian Pratt)

from “animals”

from “The bryan fire: ten years after”

from “maxwell beasley’s heart”

Page 8BryanTriangle.comApril 8, 2010 Opinion

You’re better than that:A senior on contentment

and complaining

Editors & StaffAllison McLean, Editor-in-chief

Kaity Kopeski, Online EditorBilly Findley, Sports Editor

Jonathan Goff, Design EditorJordan Pilgrim, Multimedia Editor

Kathryn DeRhodes, Advertising ManagerMaddie Doucet, Staff Photographer

Senior Staff WriterBritney Weber Staff Writers

Tim Baldi, Maddie Doucet, Lana Douglas, John moore, Krissy Proctor, Catherine Rogers

and Ericka Simpson

Bryan College Box 7807 • Dayton, TN 37321Phone: (423) 775-7285 • E-mail: triangle@bryan.edu

Faculty Advisor: John Carpenter

EDITOR’S NOTE:The Triangle is a student publication of Bryan College.

Opinions expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflectthe opinions of the college. Guest opinion pieces are welcome

but may be edited for appropriateness, content and length.

The Triangle STaff31st Year of Publication

by JOHN MOORESTAff wriTEr

“Contentment is a window or pic-ture frame that sets the boundaries

around us in which to live.” —Susan McCauley

After a taste of beauti-ful weather and more soon to come, it seems

the complaints about the gray drizzle that has hung over the hills of eastern Tennessee for months have ended. People begin to study outside and simply enjoy these temperate days of spring.

Attitudes about the weather have shifted from despondency to joy, at least for a time. But before we know it, we may soon bemoan the fact that the sun is shining too much and that the temperature is too hot. indoors we will go, where we will reg-ulate climate and attempt to avoid sweat as though it were a contagious disease.

Contentment will likely be a struggle for us humans nearly all of our lives on earth. we tend to move from one thing to the next, looking for satisfac-tion and finding it, for a time, in the new. As the thrill gradu-ally wears off, we move on with time and effort. However, i am convinced, that contentment is a state of mind rather than a place of life.

As a senior graduating from college in a matter of weeks, it seems as though the world will always attempt to convince me there is something more satisfying than what i am currently doing. But after four years of college and a hell of a summer this past year, my big ideas for changing the world slow down.

Contentment may be found in wealth or a good job, a girlfriend or a boyfriend, but ultimately, none of these will satisfy the deep hunger that we all feel. we will always feel that impulse to want more than we have. But what it means to be human does not elude to what

station i achieve in life but how i live from where i presently see the world.

A summer ago, i observed Augustine Asir and his mission-aries operating in india. word for the world missionaries live on low income, often minimum wage—a salary of about $60 a month. while supporting their families on this minimum sal-ary, many of these missionar-ies, all native indians, choose to live in the slum neighborhoods to which they minister. in these people i began to see a different kind of contentment—one that did not lead them to wanting more stuff or bigger houses or better neighborhoods or better bodies, but straight to the heart of the suffering. My weak con-tentment was put to shame. it was frail and could survive only when things were in my favor. for those with leprosy, little hope may be found in the body or in this life—but a true and undying hope is found in the life of Jesus Christ, the one who came that we might have life, life abundantly. Once, a missionary named Aaron introduced Caleb Beasley and i to two lepers sitting under the porch of a leper colony built by a roman Catholic Church. Gabriel and Mahgimay, their bodies filled with terrible dis-ease, understand joy better than anyone i have ever met. They are the lowest of the low within the indian culture, their bodies falling apart, but they love Jesus. following in His way, their lives have become beacons of light and hope to those around them, and more than anything, they have found contentment though they lie dying.

we, too, lie dying. And good weather will come and go, but the goodness of life will remain. if attitudes of content-ment rest on good weather, perhaps you should move.

But come now, you are bet-ter than that.

regarding church attendance policyby ALLISON McLEAN

EDiTOr-iN-CHiEf&

KENNETH TURNER GUEST wriTEr

The Bryan College church attendance pol-icy deserves reconsid-

eration. Presently, “Bryan College

students are expected to attend ten Sunday morning worship services of the church of their choice” (Community Life Handbook, p. 15).

Yet, we pause to ask: is this rule consistent with biblical principles and does it actually promote the spiritual develop-ment of our students?

This question assumes that biblical principle and spiritual development constitute the main purpose for such a policy.

Most of our rules do not need direct biblical warrant—other than general principles like unity or charity. However, the church attendance policy should be distinguished from administrative rules, such as speed limits and dorm regu-lations, because the church attendance policy has more to do with being Christian than with being a college, per se.

The handbook itself sug-gests as much in its open-ing sentence for this policy: “involvement in a local church is an essential part of the spiri-tual development process for every Christian” (ibid).

in our understanding, God expects of Christians volun-tary, active participation in a local church. This understand-ing challenges the school’s pol-icy in two directions.

first, the policy goes too far in making a mandate out of something that should be voluntary. while God may “require” church involvement, nothing in the Bible—except for parental rule over chil-dren—suggests that we can or should establish such a rule.

The problem is exacerbat-ed when we apply such a man-date to non-Christians. Bryan

College does not require a pro-fession of faith of its students; yet, we require non-Christian students to fulfill a require-ment explicitly intended to fos-ter “the spiritual development process for every Christian.”

This point not only seems unjust, it also runs the risk of giving a false view of the gospel.

Second, the policy does not go far enough. we ques-tion the efficacy of the church attendance policy, with respect to promoting actual church involvement, the stated pur-pose.

To be fair, some students may find our policy helpful in making them more faithful church participants. However, it is equally true that the policy can have a deleterious effect with respect to the biblical standard: active participation.

The policy may pro-mote, although unintention-ally, a “legalistic minimalism,” whereby students equate God’s expectations with merely showing up to church 62.5% of the time—10 of 16 weeks.

we raise this issue, iron-cally, because of two posi-tive observations about Bryan College.

One, we believe this com-munity is mature enough to handle such a conversation. in many institutions, this type of article would either fall hope-lessly on deaf ears or raise such a firestorm that it would not be worth the risk. However, we sense here a community that encourages and enjoys such an iron-sharpening-iron discus-sion.

Also, having examined several Christian school hand-books, we think ours does a rel-atively good job at embedding rules within the larger context of our mission and vision. it also intentionally seeks to avoid a legalistic approach to the Christian life.

However , we should always strive for greater con-sistency between broader goals and specific application. we feel the church attendance pol-icy is an issue where such con-sistency could be improved.