“Anyone can hold the helm when the sea is calm.” Publi-lius Syrus Syrus said it perfectly. Anyone can be a leader, but it takes the right kind of person to be a great leader. A great leader is someone who can not only handle the calm times, but also the hectic times. Northwest Nazarene University is blessed to have many great leaders in its midst. Kenton Lee, former Assistant Director of Campus Life, left at the end of last year to pursue a full-time job as pastor of the Table Church in Nampa, as well as to continue developing his non-profit project, Because International. From leading var-ious campus league games to his genuine dedication to the student body and campus life, Lee’s hard work and dedication during the last five years has not gone un-noticed. Now, the perfect man to continue the job is already picking

up where Lee left off. Meet Grant Miller, the new Director of Community Life for Student Development. You may be thinking, ‘New? That cannot be! I’ve seen him around plenty of times!’ It’s true; Miller has been around the block a few times at NNU. Graduating for the first time in 2010 with a double major in Public Communications and Political Science, it’s safe to say Miller got his share of education-al learning. He was also on the track team, and served in various roles on campus such as: Athlet-ic Liaison, SGA Executive Vice President, and SGA President. He involved himself in a pletho-ra of other activities on campus including leading a worship team, playing intramural sports, acting in plays and musicals, and involving himself in everything he possibly could. Due to his eligibility to throw for the NNU track team for one more year, Miller returned to

a familiar home on campus, and in that timespan earned another major in Philosophy and a minor in Spanish. But no, the fun didn’t end there! Miller then enrolled in the Master of Arts in Spiritu-al Formation program at NNU and graduated with his Master’s in 2013. He also got married in 2012 to Jen Miller who works in admissions at NNU, and he was soon after hired to work as the Web Content Specialist in NNU’s Marketing Department.

“God has worked in my life in tons of ways to bring me new opportunities,” Miller said. “After I graduated from NNU I planned on attending law school, and although I got some great of-fers from some great schools, I felt very strongly that studying law was not something I was meant to

Avery Russelleditor forThe Crusader

THE

Northwest Nazarene University

What’s Inside?newsfeatures sports arts and entertainment

Super-Late-Ive Show...........................pg. 2Wow, that was Random......................pg. 3Singing for God’s Glory......................pg. 4The ‘sitch’ in Senate..............................pg. 4Line of Thought.......................................pg. 5

Independence Fired............................pg. 6Campus Events.....................................pg. 2

Women’s Soccer.................................pg. 7 Mama Mandy.....................................pg. 8Student Highlight..............................pg. 8

volume 69 issue 2Third time’s a charm for MillerFormer NNU student athlete and Web Specialist joins Student Development

see Miller on pg. 3

“God has worked in my life in tons of ways to bring me new opportunities”

Grant MillerDirector of Community Life

Miller, Director of Community Life

2 | Monday, September 29, 2014Volume 69 Issue 2

Brent Conrad was just your average mildmannered student, until one day he was struck with a beam of creativity that transformed him into the host of a live entertainment show! Scholar by day, talk show host by night, he will stop at nothing to bring you the

finest comedy the campus has ever seen! Johnny Carson was one of Conrad’s biggest inspirations for “The Super-Late-Ive Show.” He would go to his grandparents’ house and watch the old tapes in awe at Carson’s brilliance. This spark influenced Brent to turn off the television and be the host himself! He spent most of his summer writing scripts in anticipation of the show. David Waterman, Conrad’s co-host, is the show’s quality control and courageous sidekick. Waterman helps determine if what Brent is coming up with is actually funny. Like any great creative mind, Conrad carries a note-book to write down any ideas that come to him. Even if that idea is as zany as a Spanish soap opera. The overarching philosophy for “The Super-Late-Ive Show” is that laughter truly is the best medicine. Everyone involved wants the audience to enjoy themselves and be able to escape the stressful environment of college for just a moment. A lot of time and effort goes toward every night of fun, and it truly shines through how hard Conrad and Waterman put into the writing of the show. Despite being sworn to secrecy, Conrad was kind enough to give us a sneak peek at what’s to come in the

coming weeks. There are plans to have an entire Disney themed night, a Christ-mas special, and more surprises along the way, so stay tuned! With plans to continue the show until the end of next semester, there is plenty of great comedy in the works for weeks to come. What’s that up in the sky? Is it a bird? A plane? No, it just might be Brent Conrad saving the world from mediocri-ty. Thanks for your work, good sir!

features

Campus Events for October Crusader Staff ContactSeptember 29th thru October 3rd - Spiritual Empasis Week

October 4th - Fresheree @ 7pm in the Sader Dome (Little Theatre)

October 9th - Leah Peterson Learning Commons Dedication (Library) - 4:30pm

October 13th & 14th - Fall/Winter Break (No classes)

Avery Russell Editor in Chief arussell@nnu.eduMarina Rose Assistant Editor mdaily@nnu.eduSara Wren Design Editor saraoliver@nnu.eduEric Ostyn Writer ericostyn@nnu.eduSarah Blum Writer sblum@nnu.eduWilliam Roemhildt Writer wroemhildt@nnu.eduAngela Monroe Photographer aarcher@nnu.eduBrittany McCarty Photographer bmccarty@nnu.eduCurtis Mostul Business Manager cmostul@nnu.edu

The man behind the ‘Super-Late-Ive Show’Eric Ostyn

writer forThe Crusader

Conrad and co-host Waterman

“Super-Late-Ive Show” host Conrad poses for a photo

Catch the next “Super-Late-Ive

Show”October 8thAfter Timeout (10pm)Emerson Auditorium

| 3Monday, September 29, 2014 Volume 69 Issue 2

do. I had the opportunity to live in the Brick House for a year, and in the midst of that time got engaged to Jen.” Miller explained that during his time working for NNU’s Marketing De-partment, he stayed in touch with Stu-dent Development. It had been a huge part of his time as a student at NNU and when he heard that Tim Milburn [Di-rector of Campus Life] and Kenton Lee [Assistant Director of Campus Life] were moving on to pursue other opportuni-ties, he was thrilled to have the chance to apply for the position. His belief is that being personally involved in campus life during one’s collegiate career is a vital part of an overall positive educational experience and may be part of the rea-son he felt so strongly about applying for this position. So what does Miller’s job entail? He described his role as an advisor to all student organizations on campus. That being said, he spends a lot of time with the SGA officers upstairs. In the bigger picture, Miller oversees and advises all campus clubs and student activities/leaders that are not sourced by other offices on campus, such as Residential Life and Spiritual Formation. “A more philosophical role that

I play on campus is to serve as an advo-cate for all of our students here at NNU,” Miller said.

As the new advocate for cam-pus and student life, Miller comes to the table with some future goals. His initial plan for this year and the years to come is to continue to support and empower the student body to be the absolute best it can be. “Whether that is through new clubs, events, or leadership opportuni-ties, the beauty is with every new year there are new students in leadership, so things can always be changing and grow-ing,” Miller said. The same goes for Miller when it comes to change and growth. “I have always felt the reality of God’s going be-fore me and helping me to find the right opportunities at the right time. Things have not and will not always be perfectly situated, but by faithfully working to always be glorifying God at every point, I have been led to feel extraordinary blessed and content, no matter where I am. It’s definitely a process of growth.”

In his free time, Miller is constantly involved with activities in the community. He is not only active-ly involved in church at Nampa First Church of the Nazarene, where he helps with worship and teaches Sunday School for college students, he is also working on ordination in the Nazarene church, which involves his taking classes a cou-ple of times a year. In addition, he travels and plays every couple of months with a ministry group called Woods End. “I also play rugby for a team in Boise that has finished in the top five in the country in each of the last three years, so I travel a few weekends a year for that,” Miller said. “At home, Jen and I love to go antiquing, drink coffee, read fiction and nonfiction books, and watch a lot of ‘80s TV on Netflix—Murder, She Wrote is amazing.” As the year is already off to a good start, he is looking forward to making college a positive part of each student’s life. He feels blessed to be working with SGA leaders and although he knows the rhythm of SGA quite well, he is pleased with how well the leaders have handled the transition of his new position. “I love all of them and the hard work they are doing to make this a memorable year for our students. As for the future, I am very much looking

forward to the next round of student leaders I will get to see emerge in the spring,” Miller said. Originally from Vancouver, Washington, Miller and wife Jen will not be leaving the NNU community any time soon. As we say goodbye to great leaders like Lee and Milburn, we say hello to equally great leaders such as Miller. Those who have not had a chance to visit Miller, his office is located inside of the Student Center upstairs in Student Development. As our conversation ended, Miller left me with this: “Getting a degree from a quality institution starts in the classroom, but the kind of expe-rience that we promise here can only be truly obtained through a personal experience with all of the services and opportunities that we offer at NNU.” Truth rings from every side of Miller’s statement. College is a time to be involved, try new things, and embrace these moments with lifelong friends. The fact of the matter is, you never know where God will lead you and Miller’s sto-ry is a prime example of just that.

Miller

By Wyatt Thanstrom, Class of 2018 Hello ya’ll! It’s been a crazy first couple of weeks here at NNU, but by now you should have started to get into the swing of things. Like getting homework done consistently or

writing pointless articles like this one. This little section of the news-paper is going to be the random corner that has absolutely no point. Literally…the paper it is on doesn’t have a point, it has an edge. Anyway, I’m going to put random facts on here, whether it relates to NNU or not. Be warned, facts

will range anywhere from the city to the farm and everywhere in between. In addition, I will try to include a brief but funny story. Anything to make ya’ll laugh. Oh and yes, I may use movie quotes throughout this article. Who knew, right?Random pointless facts#1 NNU’s guy/girl ratio is currently 1:2. Since TWIRP is coming up, I just thought I would warn all of the fellows on campus.#2 It is not recommended to try to drive to Table Rock at night if it is your first time going…unless you like adventure like I do and can deal with taking nine million wrong turns.

#3 Yes, dessert is a food group. Al-though I think from my experience at the Dex that ice cream is the lifeblood of NNU, seeing as there are so many who eat it for breakfast. One word of advice: when you have a meal, start with dessert first that way if you get full, you at least had the healthy and nutritious stuff first. I think Dr. Phil would disagree, but that is perfectly fine. My funny story is also a bit of a fact. The game “Star Tripping” is a very fun spectator sport. Yes, though it may be safer than “Ga Ga Ball” or “Octagon Spartacus” or whatever that dangerous—yet highly fun and entertaining—game at freshman retreat was, “Star Tripping” can be hazardous to your health. Espe-

cially if you’re a bit of a klutz like me. I played it with a group of friends at the freshman retreat. When I mean that I “played” it, I mean that I merely watched everybody else do it. Since I’m nearly six-foot-seven, people yell “timber” when I fall, so watching—and laughing--seemed like the better alternative. Also, when my friends were spinning, they all instantly stopped and took off running towards the lodge. When you happen to see that one of your friends is so dizzy that they take a 90 degree turn right towards the river, trip over a pothole, and land on their faces like they were stealing second base, you tend to not want to play. Besides, somebody had to video tape it.

Wow, that was random…

“ A more philosophical role that I play on campus is to serve as an advocate for all of our students

here at NNU,” Grant MillerDirector of Community Life

4 | Monday, September 29, 2014Volume 69 Issue 2

God has given us an amazing instrument that we don’t even have to pick up to play. He gave us our voices, and be-ing able to use that gift to glorify the Lord is a beautiful thing. Dr. Philip Miller is in charge of putting those voices together and making them sound even greater. With twenty years of teaching experience under his belt, Dr. Miller definitely knows the ins and outs of choir conducting. This will be his second year at

Northwest Nazarene University directing the Crusader Choir and Orchestra, as well as the Northwesterners. He taught at Southern Nazarene University and South-ern California Baptist University before settling in Nampa. Dr. Miller admits that deciding which songs the choirs should sing is one of the most time consuming parts of his job. The process starts by listening to model choirs perform. Some songs are chosen for being easy for the choir to learn and perform earlier in the year, while more difficult songs are picked to be learned and performed later on. The selection

process also comes down to the strengths of the choir. Not every choir can perform the same pieces, so it’s important to keep that in mind. When Dr. Miller is finished hearing the various options available, he usually ends with forty to fifty songs per group. More than forty concerts are cur-rently planned and will be performed all across the Northwest. Everyone relates to people dif-ferently and Dr. Miller does that through directing music. “The connection between ensemble and director is what’s special to me,” says Dr. Miller. “I am not a gifted vocal communicator, but I am a great communicator through conducting.” By using this medium, he is able to say what he wants to based on the

musical selection in tandem with how he conducts the choirs. The choirs will be going on a small tour in mid-October. Both the Crusader Choir and Orchestra as well as Northwesterners will be performing for a number of Nazarene churches on October 17th through the 19th for NNU Day in the churches.They will start on a Friday at Bend Church of the Nazarene followed by Salem Church of the Nazarene and finish-ing off the tour on a Sunday morning at Portland First Church of the Nazarene. Dr. Miller hopes that the students will bond more as a group through this experience and become a stronger ensemble in the process. We will all be praying for a safe trip for all of our valued choir students!

This past week in senate, one bill, SB 14-9-02, “Fund Allocation Suggestion,” was voted on and passed. The bill was written and submitted by sophomore senator Tyler Read. Un-like most bills, this bill doesn’t ask for money from senate, but rather suggests a change to the ASNNU Code. Senator Read’s reasoning behind the bill was elaborated in an informal conversation with Chief Justice Multop and myself: “What we’re trying to achieve is to create a lawful precedent based on the code and constitution of the ASNNU for

means of recognizing that organizations can submit a bill to request money from senate. Then when we discuss a bill we can decide whether a bill is valid or not based upon this, then move on to the next steps of seeing whether we will give out the money or not, based on whether constitutions are being followed.” He later added, “It’s a check and balance, so we’re making sure we’re giving the right money to the right people and the right functions.” Another interesting thing about this bill is that it really does not break new ground within the existing ASNNU code. It serves as clarification. What this bill simplifies is the means through which groups and individuals may

request money from senate, lawfully. In years past, last year especially, the senate has run into problems with not having clear guidelines for ‘how’ and ‘who’ may ask for money. While this bill does not put in concrete language who may do

that, it eliminates gray areas that have been a problem for senate in the recent past, while leaving the ASNNU senate with the freedom to decide where to give out money, case by case.

Eric Ostynwriter forThe Crusader

Singing for God’s glory

The ‘sitch’ in SenateWilliam Roemhildtwriter forThe Crusader

Senators Stinson, Hassman, Hammer, and Smith take the oath in preparation of the new year.

| 5Monday, September 29, 2014 Volume 69 Issue 2

I recently sat down with 2nd year NNU professor of Studio Art, Amy Gilles, to talk about herself and her newly opened art exhibition in the Friesen Gal-lery, titled “Line of Thought.” In this short sit-down with Professor Gilles, I not only got to know a little about our fairly new professor, but also learned about her creative process. You are relatively new to NNU; let’s start with a little about yourself. Where are you from? I’m originally from the Chicago area. I grew up there, lived there most of my life. I did my undergraduate work at Hope College in Holland, Michigan. It’s a small liberal arts college with a Dutch Reformed background. I double majored in Art and English at Hope and then did my graduate work at the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana. I received my Masters of Fine Arts in Studio Art, with an emphasis in painting.What brought you to NNU? In terms of the journey that brought me to NNU, I knew after going into graduate school that teaching was a way to continue to support my own process of creating while also doing something that I really love. I knew I didn’t want to make coffee during the day and then paint at night—although a lot of great artists have gotten their start that way—but instead find a way to make my career totally focused around art. I discovered, while teaching in graduate school, that it was a great outlet for in-spiring others while also receiving inspi-ration for my own practice. So I started applying for many different professorial positions all over the country. Honestly, Idaho was the state I probably knew the least amount about… so for me Idaho was like another country! Before moving here, I kind of imagined it looking like Kansas, except with a lot of potatoes. I flew here for an interview and really fell

in love with the campus community and the other art professors I’d be

working with. I felt like it was an envi-ronment where the people were really intellectually curious and the students were interested in taking the initiative for their own education, which is something I think is really important! It all hap-pened pretty quickly. Three weeks after officially accepting the job I was packing up my moving pod and moving across the country.Are there any influences in your life that were fundamental to your decision to go into art and teaching? In terms of a personal con-nections to art, both my mom and my grandma are artists and art teachers. That was a huge inspiration for me and my career path. Whenever I’d go over to my grandma’s house she would have me painting, drawing or creating something! Whereas some families might want their child to go into a different profession that might be more lucrative, my family was very supportive of the arts and that was extremely helpful. They strongly encour-aged the inclination that I already had.Two artists that I was really taken with at an early age were the painter John Singer Sargent and Gustav Klimt. Sargent paints mostly figures but I really loved the way he handled paint and was able to make such beautiful compositions with seem-ingly effortless gestures. Klimt’s work is a bit more illustrative but uses wonderful patterns and textures.So, what was the idea behind this exhibi-tion, “Line of Thought”? It came out of this project that I did in graduate school where I was really interested in how someone like me comes to know or feel connected to a landscape or place. I decided to experiment with the idea of walking and spending time moving around in a space as a way to know it better. The parameters I set for myself were these: I would take one walk every day, for a year, within a ten mile radius of my house. I would come back from these walks and draw the route that I had walked, from a birdseye view. The lines that came about from these walk

drawings had really beautiful and inter-esting shapes and they became a jumping off point for this exhibition. These line drawings aren’t necessarily outlines of walks, but I found that I can do a very similar thing in my line drawing that I was doing with walking. For me, walking is a way to relax, a kind of way to unwind after a long day and I do a lot of pray-ing and processing while I’m walking. I realized that I don’t necessarily have to do the walk, I can still make these drawings that are almost kind of a mental walk, a way to explore an internal landscape. This “Line of Thought” idea came out of this notion that lines indicate progress and journey, whether its journey in an actual landscape, or it’s more of a mental landscape. There’s this inherent idea of

exploration in both. That’s where a lot of this show grew out of and why I chose this title.Say, I want to take an introductory art class, just to dabble a little in art. What are some courses we offer here at NNU, that a student without much of an artistic background could plug into pretty easily? Here are some of the classes I would recommend for an introduction to art and the creative process: Two Dimensional Design (ARDE1020), it’s an introduction to what makes a good composition, what are some problem solving tools that designers use to make

pleasing designs and experimentation with various 2 dimensional materials. I’m teaching two sections of it right now, and we’re doing a lot of work with just black and white, thinking about positive space and negative space. It’s a great class that provides an introduction to the funda-mentals of art for anybody. The other two introductory classes that I teach are Painting One (ARDE2410), and Drawing One (ARDE1040). Students might have never done either of those before in a class, but it’s really an introduction to the materials and how to have success using them. Like most art classes, it’s really a process of learning how to see, not neces-sarily only learning how to draw or paint. I think learning how to see, and learning to look at something and say ‘how do I

mix that color’ or ‘how would I draw the contour line of that object’, is something that you learn and is a practice that you cultivate. A lot of times I think people are really surprised when they take these in-troductory classes and they come in not knowing anything and they leave feeling really confident.

William Roemhildtwriter forThe Crusader

‘Line of Thought’More than a just a walk in the park

Gilles with a piece from her exhibit, “Line of Thought,” in the Friesen Galleries

6 | Monday, September 29, 2014Volume 69 Issue 2

“Freedom!” This was the cry for independence from the Scottish Guard-ian, William Wallace, as he charged into battle against his English foes - over 700 years ago. Or at least, as dramatized in Mel Gibson’s iconic film, Braveheart. Whether or not the scene was 100% ac-curate, the outcome of the war remained consistent with history: Scotland lost.

Fast forward to modern times. Once again the Scots are at it, and once again they are foiled in their plans at indepen-dence. But curiously enough, this time around they did not lose. In fact, as the aftermath of the Scottish referendum unfolds, they may turn out to be the biggest winners. Unlike the Scottish legend Wil-liam Wallace, the leaders of his beloved country decided to use the pen, and

not the sword, this time around. A wise decision considering Wallace was drawn and quartered as a traitor to the throne of King Edward I. That factor aside it seems that the democratic approach, this referendum, will bring about many of the benefits they were fighting for, though not independence. Either way it could have turned out, it is a “win” for Scotland because democracy wins. The majority of the electorate (55%) decid-ed to stay in the United Kingdom, and

concessions from the government in London are already being set in place. The main Scottish objection to their past situation was that they were being disenfranchised by the govern-ment in London. In a recent conversa-tion with NNU Professor of Internation-al Relations, Justin Clardie, he explained the political situation that has dominated the United Kingdom since its formation. “The UK is traditionally

governed from the central government,

and for about thirty years they’ve gone through this period of giving more power to the different states; Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. It’s not a federal system like in the US, where there’s the central government [as well as] the state governments have a lot of authority. Traditionally authority flows, almost exclusively, from the government in London, which is the main objection.” While the objective of indepen-dence was not achieved, the government in London is already working with Scottish officials to come to concessions on key points of disagreement. Some of these, for example, include local tax control, and the presence of nuclear weapons stationed in Scotland. The really remarkable thing about the referendum, that made these concessions possible for the Scots, was the impressive 85% plus voter turnout. Professor Clardie also commented on this: “The positive that comes out of it, is there is like 85% turnout for voting, and we get 40% or 50% for presiden-tial elections if we’re lucky… from that perspective the value of participation [in this case] illustrates the importance of democracy.” Get 85% of a country or state to vote and it is going to turn some heads. For Scotland it is a real testament to how serious the country takes this issue and how seriously the government in London should take them. This is really a unique case, in

terms of how both parties went about it. In an immediate reaction to defeat, lead-er of the Scottish Nationalist party Alex Salmond, seemed very much at peace with the decision. “I accept the verdict of the people,” he said. “And I call on all the people of Scotland to accept the demo-cratic verdict of the people of Scotland.” Prime Minister David Cameron spoke very much with a sigh of relief after the results were in. “The people of Scotland have spoken and it is a clear result… They have kept our country of four nations together. As I said during the campaign it would have broken my heart to see our United Kingdom come to an end.” The Prime Minister also spoke of a “new and fair settlement” in the works. The implications of the Scottish referendum will have broad reaching effects across Europe and even the globe. Two such regions that may be positively affected by this triumph of democracy will be Ukraine and Catalonia, Spain. Professor Clardie also spoke on these two cases. “I think for Russia they look at this as maybe something that will hap-pen in Eastern Ukraine now. It happened in Crimea, they voted for their indepen-dence, and then so maybe those eastern parts of Ukraine will have a similar type or referendum… In Spain, the Basque region is the one that has more explicitly sought independence. It achieved a little bit of those sorts of concessions from the government. It serves as a model. If you’re in Catalonia and you want more regional local control, threaten an inde-pendence referendum and even if it fails you may get what you want.” Take notes, future William Wallaces of the democratic world.

newsWilliam Roemhildtwriter forThe Crusader

Independence Fired: the Scottish Referendum

“ I accept the verdict of the people,” he said. “And I call on all the peo-ple of Scotland to accept the demo-

cratic verdict of the people of Scotland.” Alex SalmondLeader of the Scottish Nationalist party

| 7Monday, September 29, 2014 Volume 69 Issue 2

If you have ever had a class with a women’s soccer player, you may have noticed a few things about her. She probably wears sweats - a lot. If she isn’t wearing sweats, you might notice that she’s covered in bruises. If you don’t see any bruises, it’s probably because she’s absent from class on an away trip. It might seem unfair that we are excused from class so often, but don’t think we are excused from doing work. You might actually be surprised to learn that the NNU women’s soccer team won GNAC Academic Champions last season—and five years running from 2006-2011. In fact, there are a lot of things that might surprise you about our team. For example, did you know that many of the NNU women’s soccer play-

ers are also rollerblading aficionados? President Alexander once complimented me on my blades, and that is a true story folks. You probably also didn’t know that this is Mary Trigg’s second year as head coach, or that prior to Trigg’s leadership the team was led by a husband-and-wife coaching team for ten years. During that time, NNU never reached .500, but ask anyone on the team and they will tell you that things are different now. Junior Rachel Ball speaks for the team with her appraisal of the season thus far. “We’ve got a lot of great things going for us this year! We have talent, depth, and a lot of heart. Our team is ready to face the season head-on and create success. Our accomplishments so far have done nothing more than create an insatiable amount of drive to get out there and prove ourselves.”

We have a relatively new team this year, with ten new players and twelve returners. With a young team, being the only four-year senior on the roster is a little bit like being team mom - especially when you end up driving the rental mini-van full of soccer players to Safeway for snacks and then to the game—that is real, and if you don’t believe me ask me about my mom jeans. Capri Suns are not a joke, but neither is our determination to succeed. Since I’ve

been on this team even

longer than our coach, I can say with confidence that this group of girls has the most potential for success of all the years I have played here. Building on the achievements and lessons of past years, with a strong fresh collective resolve and drive, we are pushing further than ever before. With one of our team themes being “Risk,” we are striving to sacrifice whatever gets in the way of the best in-terests of the team in order to reach our goals. Our key focus, as asserted by sophomore Sarah Jenkins, is definitely discipline. “We talk about having disci-pline in practice, or in sticking to the

game plan, and doing the little things right, and when we do that, we have the potential to turn games in our favor. I also think it’s something that’s becoming part of our team culture and something we expect of ourselves and each other.” So next time you see us in class, know that we don’t get off easy when we’re absent for games - the reason we sport our bruises so proudly is that they prove our determination to excel.

Sarah Blumwriter forThe Crusader

sportsWhat you didn’t know about NNU Women’s Soccer

NNU women defeat Dominican University of California at home on Sept. 15.

Makena Dandley, freshman defender

Sports for OctoberOctober 2nd - Men’s Soccer @ NNU -South Dakota School of Mines & Technology 5pm

October 4th - Men’s Soccer @ NNU -University of Mary 3pm

October 4th - Women’s Soccer @ NNU -Simon Fraser University (B.C.) Noon

October 9th - Women’s Volleyball @ NNU -Seattle Pacific University 7pm

October 11th - Women’s Volleyball @ NNU =Montana State University-Billings 7pm

8 | Monday, September 29, 2014Volume 69 Issue 2

Dear Mama Mandy,I have a huge problem. I mean, on the

grand scale of things it’s above a hang-nail but below being dipped in antelope blood and dropped in the middle of a pack of hungry lions. I would call it a good midpoint between the two.

I am deathly afraid of whales. I know that that may sound ridiculous, but I swear it’s not. You can’t trust whales. Have you ever looked into the eyes of a whale? That’s right, you can’t because they have unreasonable small eyeballs for their giant sized heads! Why trust an animal that you cannot stare in the eye? Sperm whales? That’s just dis-gusting. Don’t even get me started on killer whales! The word “killer” is even in the name. If you’ve seen Blackfish, you would see that killer whales just go around killing people. What’s up with that? Everyone is all, “Oh whales, they are so majestic and polite,” but I see straight through that innocent facade. They can’t fool me.

How is this a problem, you may ask? It just is. I can’t seem to get them out of my head. I feel that at any moment a whale might pop out and eat me. If it happened to Jonah, Dory, and Merlin then what’s to stop it from happening to anyone else? Please help me Mama Mandy.Sincerely,I’ve got 99 problems and a fish is one

Dear Iggy Awhale-eaI understand where your fear of

cetaceans comes from, and it’s a healthy thing. They are NOT friends, and anyone who says otherwise probably worked for Sea World marketing pre- Shamu gone wild. However, whales are very unlikely to “pop out” and eat you. Let’s be real, that only happens in Shark-

nado. I would suggest you not compare yourself to literary characters- that might be your first problem. My main advice to you, however, is to not dress up as a seal for Halloween and then go swimming in the Arctic Ocean. I think you should keep a few things in mind:

Whales have really great qualities! They make nice bedroom wall art, they provided oil to light the lamps of civi-lized people for hundreds of years, and they eat little ocean creatures to keep the ecosystem going. There are only four recorded incidents of fatal killer whale attacks, and I bet you would be less grossed out by sperm whales if you knew that they can have intestines up to 300 meters long. Personally I have only had great experiences with these large aquatic mammals - a whale of a time, really. If you want a really invigorating treatise on whale life, I recommend chapter 32 of Moby Dick.

You might try overcoming your fear little by little - start by watching Free Willy, for example. “To be enraged with a dumb thing, Captain Ahab, seems blasphemous.” So don’t be angry at whales who have never done a thing to you. You might try swimming a mile in their fins first. Sincerely,The whale whisperer

Need advice? Email your friendly advice colum-nist at mamamandy@nnu.edu for answers to your most trying questions, from relationships and dating to cetology! Mama’s got the answers.

You could create the new face of Mama Mandy! Send your photos, drawings, or ideas to mama-mandy@nnu.edu and check the next issue to see if yours was chosen!!!

a&eWhale, everyone has their issues...Student Highlight

Oscar Diaz

You know that guy with an enormous smile and a great attitude about everything? Well if you don’t, you should! Oscar Diaz is a senior Christian Ministries major with a Bible minor. He has spent most of his life living here in Nampa, but he was born in El Salvador and spent the first two years of his life there. “I don’t really remember anything about El Salvador, but my dad told me that there was this horse that I absolutely loved. I would not get off of that horse. I don’t remember that, but apparently the horse was pretty cool.” While Diaz hasn’t spent much time on horses recently, he has been spending a good chunk of time at Franklin Church of the Nazarene, where he is an intern working with children. One of his goals is to become a senior pastor and lead a congregation. With his love of public speaking and his quick smile for everyone, Diaz has found his niche. He is also a leader in the freshmen D groups this year. Like a Life Group Leader, Diaz’s purpose is to help others in their spiritual journey as they wrestle with questions about their faith and grow stronger in Christ. He is also part of NNU’s Campus Ministry team, a group of student ministry leaders led by Danny Atkins. Whatever it is that Diaz finds himself involved with at NNU he loves. “I’ve had such an amazing journey during my time here. I couldn’t imagine getting a college education any-where else. The tight knit God-focused

community and my network of friends have been such a blessing; I’m sad that I will have to leave it so soon.” Diaz also plans on getting mar-ried next August and hopes to attend the Nazarene Theological Seminary next fall. The future is full of promise for Diaz, and he is ready for all of the grand adventures that await him.

Marina Roseassistant editor forThe Crusader