Thank you for visiting our site. Posted below are all of the articles in the April issue of TPP. Also posted is the research from the “More Than Just Numbers” article. Click on the links above or to the right to view individual articles or simply scroll down. This is our first time posting online so if you see any problems, please let us know. Also, feel free to login and leave comments. Thank you for your feedback and support!
Elizabeth
Editor-in-Chief
Various CIU-relevant topics clamor for attention among students, faculty and staff. Many of these issues revolve around campus life, academics, student life and broader issues, such as retention. In reaction to the recent budget cuts and lack of funding, many students have formed the impression that CIU struggles to retain students. And it seems that every student has his own opinion of why this is so. In light of this, TPP has researched the statistical evidence as well as the student and administrative opinion about retention. In doing so, we discovered that our first impression was incorrect. But while the numbers demonstrate that CIU is competitive in retention with other schools, student and administrative opinion demonstrates a feeling of unrest and dissatisfaction.
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This piece began as just a revision of the letter that I read at the Open Forum a couple of weeks ago, but things from recent days and especially recent hours will likely have dramatically changed what it will be. I came on campus today for the usual Monday meeting that The Pilgrim’s Protest staff has every week. In that meeting, Dr. Crutchfield was talking to us about our generational propensity for phrasing things to ourselves in ways that his generation would read and pretty much dismiss. He then jokingly referred to himself as the “token adult” as that turned into a conversation that essentially amounted to talking about the way our two generations carry ourselves and conduct our business. I’m 23, meaning I’m the second oldest person in the room, and Dr. Crutchfield’s words hit home for me.
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As told to Tommy Broadway
Recently certain problem students have taken it upon themselves to assume a decidedly negative stance towards the CIU administration (I blame postmodernism). However, what troubles me far more than the negativity I have seen is the more recent crop of problem students who show negativity towards the negativity of those who dislike the standards. I have struggled valiantly in my attempt to keep a positive attitude towards this negativity about the negativity while simultaneously remaining positive about the original negativity and, quite frankly, it is becoming somewhat confusing. Determining who to sit with at lunch now requires the use of advanced algebra. My greatest fear is that I will soon join the ranks of those who are acting negatively about those who are acting negatively about those who are acting negatively. My hope of retaining my exuberance is not lost, though. I have a close friend who is eight levels deep in negativity, yet still remains optimistic!
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By Tommy Broadway
You thought it could never happen! You swore it didn’t exist! But you were wrong!
On March 23, CIU Film Fest crawled from its greasy lair and bit you in the hindquarters without so much as taking you to dinner first! From zombies to Power Rangers to Strnad, the films dealt with all sorts of fantastic and mythical beings. It was a night of great intrigue and excitement. There were surprises, plot twists if you will, within the fest itself.
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While many long to curl up on the couch or lie in a hammock with their favorite book, on a beautiful spring day, I long to ascend the stairs in my house to the place my wife calls the ‘man room.’ There I watch my favorite movie, on my Panasonic Hi Def, 42” Plasma screen TV, connected to my 5.1 Dolby surround sound system playing at concert hall pitch, with the movie spilling across the screen courtesy of my JVC DVD player.
But what are my favorite movies? How does a film get lucky enough to go from sitting on the shelf at Best Buy to my DVD player? My viewing falls into two categories. These two categories give me a sense of purpose when it comes to my films. They help me set parameters and allow me to focus (pun intended) on the reason why I watch what I watch.
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It was a surprise to me when Gina Russo, our editor-emeritus, mentioned to me a few weeks ago that our next issue would be our 2-year anniversary issue. As I thought about how to commemorate this milestone, I thought perhaps it was time to offer some musings about my role in the whole enterprise.
For those who do not know, The Pilgrim’s Protest was born in a Hebrew language class in the spring of 2005. One day, after a particularly passionate class discussion, I challenged the class to discuss their ideas about campus, church, and world issues in a printed format, a student newspaper. To my surprise, they took up the challenge, and The Pilgrim’s Protest was born. From the beginning, I have felt that my role was one of directing and channeling the energy flow of students into constructive, honest conversation. (Please read our original manifesto reprinted in this anniversary issue.)
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Five Initiatives for CIU
On Wednesday, March 28, Bill Jones presented five initiatives with ten objectives that Columbia International University will be pursuing. Please send TPP a sound off and let us know what you think of these initiatives.
1. Enhancing campus life for our students
-Study and improve housing conditions and suggest additional options (unless building new dorm)
-Increase amenities such as Internet, and electrical capacity in dorms
-Present a proposal to the Board to consider NCCAA II athletics
2. Clarifying how Spiritual Life will be formed in all delivery systems.
-Main campus & other delivery systems
3. Strengthening our academic offerings
- Launch the Business & Organizational Leadership Program in the undergrad
-Inaugurate the Center for Christian School Education
4. Expanding our delivery venues -Provide initial offering of an online M.Ed.
-Provide initial offering of an online M.A. Missions
-Add another location
5. Reaching and maintaining 1000 headcount with 400 new students
- REAL Marketing (regions, events, alumni, leveraged partnerships) with focus on undergrad and graduate programs by discipline
The Pilgrim’s Protest asked the members of the college faculty to turn in a list of their 5 favorite books and 5 favorite movies. My list of books demands little explanation, mostly theological and exegetical tomes, the kind of books a Bible professor is expected to enjoy. My list of movies cries out for further clarification. My favorite movies are anything but thought-provoking. They are: The Princess Bride; What about Bob?; Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark; Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade; and Napoleon Dynamite.
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By Gina Russo
In the fall of 2006 years of unresolved doubt began to surface and I found myself trapped in layers of uncertainty and fear. I reached for books like lifelines laying on the torrential surface of my struggle. Having a similar church background to Philip Yancey, I checked out a stack of his books from the library and gobbled their contents. The insights were refreshing and I found myself relating to his childhood a great deal. On a whim, I sent an email to him via his publishing company, Zondervan. Weeks went by without response and I assumed he was fairly busy with his own life.
On a particularly dark day, my roommate and I attended a performance of Handel’s Messiah at the Koger Center. For those not familiar with the production, Messiah is a brilliant classical arrangement with aria’s that are essentially Scripture. I heard the ancient prophecies from beautiful voices but found myself frustrated. “I don’t know what this means or why I should care,” I thought. As we drove home my roommate began quoting John Donne’s Holy Sonnets and we analyzed their meaning. I wanted God to batter my heart, but didn’t know where to find him.
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