The Swinging Bridge: Oct 17, 2012

n the late winter of 2011, President Kim Phipps, vice president of enroll-ment John Chopka, and assistant director of admissions for international student recruitment Cindy Blount, traded the cold of Grantham for the

sunny climate of Asia as they arranged a recruitment trip to the region. One of their stops was a pre-university institution in Malaysia, Methodist College Kuala Lumpur (MCKL).

IBy Nicholas Tay

FEATURE EDITOR

//see RECRUITMENT on page 3

By Bryan LeongPhoebe Chua (left), Bryan Leong (middle), and Joel Ngui (right) enjoy their welcome to Messiah (and the cold!)

RECRUITMENT OVERSEAS

STUDENTS’ PERSPECTIVES

Three Malaysian students provide insight on how they found Messiah College

They arrived at a campus where most students’ higher education plans focus on studies in Singapore, Australia, or the United Kingdom. On their trip, they presented the benefits of studying in the United States, especially identifying the strengths of Christian perspective inte-gral to Messiah’s mission.

As a result, three students from MCKL enrolled at Messiah for the 2012-2013 academic year. While the college’s re-cruitment trip impacted their applica-tion, other individuals and factors in-fluenced Bryan Leong, Joel Ngui, and Phoebe Chua’s final decision.

Leong remembers the college presen-tation by President Phipps. “President Phipps came with Ms. Cindy to the pre-university meetings, which are held ev-ery Tuesday. I had never heard of Mes-siah College before their presentation as

it was not as famous as the Ivy League schools. The main point presented by President Phipps was how higher edu-cation in the United States was different from other countries, especially since there’s a bigger focus on the liberal arts here.”

While President Phipps’ presenta-tion focused mainly on the positives of American higher education, Leong still recalls the president’s mention of Cem-etery Hill. “She mentioned how when it snows in the winter, students would take trays from Lottie and go sledding. That was what I remembered Messiah College to be.”

Chua and Ngui were not present at Pres-ident Phipps’ talk yet their decision to apply was largely influenced by Blount’s continual trips to the region and Veron-ica Yap, the USA Universities Placement

Advisor and Counselor for MCKL.

For Ngui, Blount’s recruitment drives at MCKL connected him with an idea of the American pedagogical style, the Christian aspect of higher education, and Messiah’s engineering program.

“I was drawn to the States because they focus more on the holistic growth of the individual. My parents also encouraged me to go to a Christian college to ex-plore the whole integration of learning and faith, and the impressive engineer-ing program was just another salient quality about Messiah College which at-tracted me.”

Chua received direction from both Yap and Blount.

insi

de

THIS ISSUE

golfpage 11

rimsha masihpage 9

b-si

des page 6

WWRH E A L T H C A R Epage 4

BURG

3rd

in

the

page 6

difficultconversationspage 2

HOUGHTON COLLEGEOFF-CAMPUS PROGRAMS

MORE INFORMATION:

www.houghton.edu/[email protected]

Houghtonin TANZANIAapply for:

Spring 2013Spring 2014

Houghton DOWN UNDERapply for:

Fall 2013

CITY SEMESTERapply for:

Spring 2013Fall 2013

October 17, 2012 News 2The Swinging Bridge

Discussing Politics: the Good, the Bad, and the UglyDifficult Conversations chapel highlights how to communicate efficiently about politics

By Sarah DoucetteSTUDENT WRITER

O

The Sustainable Future of Messiah College

TBy Megan E. Bloom

STUDENT WRITER

//see SUSTAINABILITY on page 3

he patio of Larsen Student Union was filled with people, lo-cally grown produce, and a very

hungry tortoise named Gilbert. The top-ic that was buzzing on everyone’s lips was sustainability. It was the Messiah College Office of Sus-tainability’s second annual Sustain-A-Fest on Thursday, October 4th. “One of the goals for this year was try-ing to make it an interconnected experi-ence. There’s multiple different groups on campus and off campus pursuing sustainability initiatives or just in their model of business,” said Student Sus-tainability Coordinator, Amy Ward.

Though there are many organizations on campus, some of them are directly providing sustainable resources to the campus like Earthkeepers and the bio-diesel initiative. “Earthkeepers is the creation care, envi-ronmental science, and biology club on campus,” said two of the leaders of the club, Jess Adams and Erika Lyons. The club has purchased compost collec-tion buckets to give to students so they can contribute to the campus wide com-posting effort. Adam Arditi, a waste diversion work-study student, collects 500 lbs. per day of pre and post-consumer waste from Lottie Nelson Dining Hall, pre-consum-

er waste from the Union, and coffee grounds from the Falcon for the com-post pile in the back 40. “The most important thing about com-posting is that we have nutrients in our food and when we throw that in the gar-bage all those nutrients don’t stay in our campus. So we want to keep the nutri-ents in our cycle on our campus because when we compost, it breaks down and then it goes back into our soil which is used by the Grounds Department for the community garden and landscap-ing,” said Arditi. One does not have to be a sustainable studies major to make a difference. A group of students use their zeal for en-gineering to create biofuel on campus.

The biofuel program has been around for 10 years and the efforts to produce biodiesel has increased. One of the ways the program has grown was the planting of the sunflower field in 2011. “We collect the sunflower seeds and put them through a seed press. We press the seeds and get a beautiful sunflower press cake and we also get crude sun-flower oil,” said Mark Wagner, junior engineering major. Wagner continues to explain that they take the sunflower oil and the waste veg-etable oil from Lottie Nelson and com-bine it with a catalyst of potassium hy-droxide or sodium hydroxide. Then they

By Rachel Seitz

n Oct. 23, Messiah College’s Communication Department and the Associate Dean’s team

will host this year’s Difficult Conversa-tions event—with a twist. With the election coming up this year, Difficult Conversations is going politi-cal. Students can receive chapel credit while learning new methods on how to discuss one of the most difficult topics around: politics. ”Knowing that we are in an election year and knowing that so much of the political realm involves issues in which people are often extremely passionate – to the point of incivility,” said Associate Dean of Students Doug Wood. “Having this “political lens” on the Difficult Con-versation program seemed especially relevant.” Difficult Conversations is not your av-erage chapel. This interactive event consists of role plays, short clips, lots of food, and stimulating discussion. Stu-dents can expect to walk away with new skills on how to effectively communicate with civility when emotions run high.Although junior history major Nicole Roggie only attended Difficult Con-versations last year because of friends, she was pleasantly surprised about how much she learned.

“This chapel wasn’t at all what I expect-ed; the skits were informative, but also really entertaining,” says Roggie. “I re-ally liked the discussion between each role play and how we were given mark-ers to brainstorm answers. Controver-sial topics can be difficult to discuss, but this chapel taught me some ways about how to get my opinion across without being offensive.” Students of professor Kate Quimby’s In-terpersonal Conflict class last semester wrote and directed the role plays. Ju-nior communication major Blair Jewell was not only in that class, but acted in one of the skits as well.

“Being in Difficult Conversations was an amazing experience; by stepping into my character’s shoes, I was able to learn new things about dealing with conflict that I could then apply to my everyday life. This year, because of the political aspect, it will be a new learning experi-ence for everyone,” says Jewell.

This year, all students on campus were invited to participate in writing role plays. In addition, Dr. Nance McCown’s Event Planning class is helping with the event. Dr. McCown, Chair of the Com-munication Department, was thrilled with last year’s turnout and is excited to see how the political theme will play out this year. “We hoped for about 200 students and ended up with about 350!” said McCown.

Professor Quimby is also hoping for an even bigger and better event this time around. “What I’m hoping to see is a strong turnout across campus from the entire Messiah community. There is not anyone among us who could not benefit from participating in this event. The topics are timely and realistic. This lack of civility is something most all of us have experienced, or witnessed, or

maybe even been guilty of ourselves,” says Quimby. Difficult Conversations will be held on Tuesday, Oct. 23 in Brubaker auditori-um at 8 p.m. For more information, visit the event page on the Messiah College Communication Department’s Face-book page.

powder puff

Concert Choir PerformanceWhere: Hostetter ChapelWhen: Saturday, October 20 @ 4-5 p.m.

Homecoming Concert – Adam BrockWhere: Larsen Student UnionWhen: Saturday, October 20 @ 9 p.m.Price: Free, but ticketed eventMessiah College alum and American Idol finalist, Adam Brock will be performing in the Union!

October 17, 2012 News 3The Swinging Bridge

//RECRUITMENT

“I heard about Messiah from Ms. Cindy during her presentations and a memo-rable part of her talk was the sunflower fields. It was pretty interesting to know that Messiah places an emphasis on sustainable projects. But what caught me the most was that it was a Christian college.”

The Malaysians’ choice of tertiary edu-cation depended on their ability to af-ford the high costs of overseas stud-ies. Messiah’s financial aid structure and generosity was an answer to their prayers.

Leong recalls, “I was set on applying to Birmingham University in the UK, but I realized it was pretty costly and would be a burden to my family. When Ms. Yap mentioned the affordability of a United States education, I decided to apply to both Messiah and Kent State. By God’s grace, the [financial] door to Messiah opened for me.”

Chua’s dream of teaching mathematics at the college level and Messiah’s gener-osity influenced her decision.

“The only way to pursue my dream was to go overseas. The UK and Singapore weren’t among my choices because scholarships require bonding to certain companies or the government. I didn’t want that. Money was the main decid-ing factor and Messiah offered generous financial aid opportunities. Messiah was my dream college but I wasn’t sure how I would be able to afford the education. Yet I knew God would provide, and He did.”

For many international students, a leap of faith is required when making deci-sions of higher education. Even though the final choice is personal, the institu-tion’s influence impacts the outcome. For the MCKL students, Messiah Col-lege’s decision to recruit in Asia, along with its generous financial aid, offered these individuals an opportunity many do not have: quality tertiary education.

MESSIAH COLLEGE’SHOMECOMING CALENDAR

*for more information see http://www.messiah.edu/offices/alumni/homecoming/index.html

dance

...more

concertsalumni games

varsity sports

A Night in the City: Homecoming DanceWhere: HitchcockWhen: Friday, October 19 @ 8-12 a.m.Price: $12, students and $15, guestsThe Homecoming dance is semi-formal and features the talents of DJ Innov8.

Falcon Fun RunWhere: Starry Athletic Complex, outdoor trackWhen: Saturday, October 20 @ 8:30–9:15 a.m. Race begins on the outdoor track at 9:30. Register in the Eisenhower Campus Center Commons.

Oakes Museum: 10th AnniversaryWhere: Jordan Science Center, Oakes MuseumWhen: Saturday, October 20 @ 10 a.m.–5 p.m.

Varsity Field Hockey vs. ArcadiaWhere: Anderson FieldWhen: Saturday, October 20 @ 1 p.m.Support the Falcons as they take on Arcadia.

Varsity Women’s Soccer vs. WidenerWhere: Shoemaker FieldWhen: Saturday, October 20 @ 3 p.m.Support the lady Falcons as they take on Widener.

Varsity Men’s Soccer vs. WidenerWhere: Shoemaker FieldWhen: Saturday, October 20 @ 6 p.m.Get there a few minutes early to see the student white out march led by Eyas, the Student Alumni Council!

Alumni Wrestling PracticeWhere: Sollenberger Sports Center, Wrestling RoomWhen: Saturday, October 20 @ 9:30 a.m. Alumni Field Hockey GameWhere: Anderson FieldWhen: Saturday, October 20 @ 10 a.m. Alumni Women’s Soccer GameWhere: Practice FieldsWhen: Saturday, October 20 @ 10 a.m.

Alumni Baseball ClassicWhere: Starry Athletic Fields, Baseball FieldWhen: Saturday, October 20 @ 11 a.m. Alumni Softball GameWhere: Starry Athletic Fields, Softball FieldWhen: Saturday, October 20 @ 11 a.m.

Alumni Men’s Soccer GameWhere: Practice FieldsWhen: Saturday, October 20 @ 12 p.m.

Alumni Women’s Lacrosse GameWhere: Anderson FieldWhen: Saturday, October 20 @ 3 p.m.

Alumni Men’s Lacrosse GameWhere: Anderson FieldWhen: Saturday, October 20 @ 4:30 p.m.

Powderpuff: Seniors vs. First YearsWhere: Rec FieldsWhen: Saturday, October 20 @ 10 a.m.Come show your support and see as the year’s females compete in a football game like no other!

Powderpuff: Juniors vs. SophomoresWhere: Rec FieldsWhen: Saturday, October 20 @ 11:15 a.m.

Powderpuff: Cheerleading CompetitionWhere: Rec FieldsWhen: Saturday, October 20 @ 12:30 p.m.Support your Messiah College men as they cheer for the ladies! Each group represents their year and has a choreographed routine. Powderpuff: Championship GameWhere: Rec FieldsWhen: Saturday, October 20 @ 1 p.m.The deciding game of ladies football that will determine which year’s team is the victor of Messiah College!

//SUSTAINABILITY

mix it with methanol to get biodiesel and glycerin by using a machine called the manual processor.

“We put our waste vegetable oil directly into this tank [in the manual processor] and we add the chemicals into a sepa-rate tank. After heating it up, we can actually mix the two together and it in-stills a chemical reaction,” said senior engineering major Tyler Newswanger. Once the reaction is complete they are left with glycerin and biodiesel; they then separate the two and are left with clean biodiesel, said Newswanger. “The biodiesel is used to fuel the ga-tors that the Messiah staff uses to drive around campus,” said Wagner. These two projects are sending the col-lege down the right path toward being a sustainable campus. With the passion of students and faculty, we can all help in creating an environmentally conscious community.

October 17, 2012 Opinions 4The Swinging Bridge

f you’re looking for a presidential candidate who opposes socialized medicine, you may be dismayed. Neither major candidate sympathizes with this position. Everyone is aware that Barack Obama introduced the Affordable Health Care Act: its successful passage has been a thing of hubris for his Democratic administration. It’s also true that there is much

derision of Obamacare from the GOP and one would conclude that Mitt Romney is a staunch opponent of universal health care.

However, during his tenure as Governor of Massachusetts, Romney signed similar health care legislation into law. Shortly after the Supreme Court declared the constitutionality of the act (as another tax), Romney offered his condemnation of the

espite constant scrutiny since being signed into law on Mar. 23, 2010, the Patient Protection and Affordable

Care Act (PPACA), commonly known as "Obamacare," will go down as one of the most notable accomplishments

A Libertarian Perspective on Health Care

Provided by whitehouse.gov

By Grant Meckley STUDENT WRITER

WEDNESDAYWAR ROOM

H E A L T H C A R E Obamacare

and the Practicality of Politics

By Huy NguyenOPINIONS EDITOR

of President Obama in his tenure.

The primary goal of Obamacare is to reduce the number of Americans with-out health insurance while also reduc-ing the costs of health care. The reform employs mandates, subsidies, and tax credits to increase coverage rate.

In June 2012, Obama scored a major victory when the Supreme Court ruled the individual health insurance man-date constitutional, therefore uphold-ing the President's signature legislation.

However, by also declaring that the penalties the law places on individu-als who elect not to buy health insur-ance will count as a tax protected by the Constitution, the Supreme Court posed a serious challenge to Obama as

Election Day draws closer. The ruling ties Obama's accomplishment with po-tentially inextricable political division and controversy, on multiple levels.

First and foremost, Obama's political legacy was clearly cemented with the upholding of the Affordable Care Act. After all, there has not been a health re-form even close to Obamacare's magni-tude since Medicare and Medicaid were passed in 1965. However, the Presi-dent, in an interview with ABC News' George Stephanopoulos in 2009, main-tained that "the mandate is not a tax."

Does that mean Obama is now forced to endorse his signature legislation despite the fact that the bill itself con-tradicts his policy as the President!? Yes, because he has no other choice.

Unsurprisingly, Mitt Romney and the Republicans jumped at the opportu-nity to cement their case against Obam-acare, reaffirming the Chief Justice's ruling that the mandate is indeed a tax. The problem is Romney, as the Mas-sachusetts governor, signed a health care bill that penalizes citizens without health insurance. Although the law is only applied at the state level, it bears resemblance to the federal provision.

Now does that mean Romney is now obliged to contradict the very bill he signed as the Massachusetts governor and run against the ruling that enshrines the constitutionality of "Romneycare?" Yes, because he has no other choice.

Heading into the election, health care remains one of the prominent topics of debate. Voters are looking at a situa-tion where the two major candidates are forced to base their arguments not only against their opposition, but also against themselves. And as Obama and Romney attempt to conceal their self-contradic-tion, the debate over health care comes down to how adept each candidate is at framing the issue in their favor.

In other words, making themselves look good politically will be the candidates' priority, at least on the health care issue.

What else is new?

Information from CNN and ABC News was used in this report.

mandate saying the states should de-cide if they want universal health care. This is a weak argument by a candidate nominated by his party to dismantle the burgeoning Obamacare legislation.

Libertarians offer a different model.

Politicians, like doctors, should take a Hippocratic Oath to first do no harm when implementing health care legis-lation. Obama’s socialized medicine is well-meaning but shortsighted, poten-tially bankrupting our economy and ex-panding the size of the federal govern-ment. On the other hand, libertarians first want to replace the current uni-versal health care model with private medical expense accounts that can be accessed for doctor visits and medicine.

For individuals without expense ac-counts, medical expenses would be com-pletely tax-deductible. Truthfully, there is much controversy over the quality of health care in foreign countries such as Canada or Denmark. There are mixed reviews about the quality of care and many complaints of waiting times to see physicians. However, these nations can implement universal health care because of their small populations as well as existing socialist infrastructure.

Additionally, these expense accounts will be coupled with Medicare and Med-icaid reforms. In 1965, the Medicaid Act was signed into law. Few people at the time saw the unsustainable nature of the law before the baby-boomers stopped paying into Social Security. Medicare

//see OPINIONS on page 5

D

I


// OPINIONS

and Medicaid are here to stay as they help many elderly and disabled Ameri-cans. However, there is much corruption and fraud to be investigated as fewer than 5% of Medicare claims are audited.

Ron Paul, a 2012 GOP primary contend-er, physician, and long-time advocate for limiting government interference in health care explained how government has compromised the doctor patient re-lationship: “This idea of managed care was introduced in the Nixon years.” Paul explained in an interview with the Cam-paign for Liberty. “[These programs] were designed to force people into medical care. What has developed has been corporate medicine. The individu-als best able to gather the money man-dated by the government (insurance, drug companies, health management) lined up and started running the show.”

Paul astutely points that the reason that medical costs are so high stems from a reaction to government inter-vention. Hospitals have less remorse adding proprietary fees and service

For Details: www.messiah.edu/career

Highlights: Access to over 120 employers and grad

school reps

Recruiting for internships,

professional positions & grad programs

Free LinkedIn Photo Booth (10:30—noon)

ALL majors & class years are invited to

attend!

Door Prizes! ♦

Professional Clothing

Scholarships!

Monday October 22, 2012

11:00—2:30 Brubaker Auditorium

The 7th Annual

Career & Grad School Expo

The Career Center presents...

charges when insurance and other health care middlemen propped up by the government are footing the bills.

“We don’t have medical insurance, we have distorted that word,” said Paul.

He goes on to explain that insurance used to measure risk, covering major crises like cancer and surgery. Now, peo-ple want sundry expenses like drugs and office visits covered by insurance. Gary Johnson, the libertarian running for president rejects a one-size-fits-all pol-icy in Washington. Johnson hopes the states innovate and drive down health care costs by allowing practitioners to innovate. Granted the Romney-Ryan plan calls for similar actions but vot-ers should ask themselves if they trust the governor who drafted the blueprints of Obamacare to reform health care.

Information from The Wash-ington Post, Gary Johnson offi-cial campaign website, and philly.com Blog was used in this report.

t brings me great sorrow to see how many people have been misled about what exactly “Obamacare” means for them

as individuals. Virtually every facet of the President’s legislation is not only bad for college students like you and me, but also for the entirety of the nation.

At its core, Obamacare is a fundamental means to redistribute wealth in America, continuing the current administration’s quest to transform America into a so-cialist state. Prior to its initiation, we as a nation already had in place one of the greatest health care system in the world. No individual, regardless of whether or

The Obamacare Fallacy

not they had coverage, would be refused emergency medical services in any hos-pital throughout the country. Why fix something that is not broken? Obam-acare is nothing short of a complete sup-pression of our rights as individuals, an attempt on the part of a power-hungry administration to obtain control of even more of the private sector than it already has. It is unconstitutional in nature, and will devastate this nation economi-cally. We as citizens are being forced to buy into a system that we may not need as individuals; a kind of initiative that has no precedence in the Constitu-tion, and that will bankrupt this nation.

Obamacare will economically crush the most productive members of society, as well as those who have the greatest need for health care benefits. Through taxation, dedicated, working-class men and women are being made to pay into a system that will offer them absolutely no benefits in return. As college stu-

dents, healthy and without a real need for health care services at this time in our lives, we should not be obliged to pay for a system that does not provide meaningful service for us in return. It is an unnecessary expense on an already heavily-taxed American population.

Senior citizens, those who need health care services the most, are also going to suffer the greatest at the hand of the current administration’s agenda. In order to pay for the unnecessary and burdensome expenses of Obamacare, President Obama opted to slash $716 billion out of Medicare and Medicaid funding. The very people that Obam-acare is allegedly supposed to be ben-efiting are the people that will be most adversely effected by the new law.

Mitt Romney’s alternative to Obam-acare consists of a fundamental re-vamping of health care as a whole that will cut down on government waste, re-move requirements that force individu-als to buy into the system while simul-taneously ensuring that those who need health care benefits will continue to re-ceive medical services and treatments.

Romney’s goal is to return health care to its proper place, in the hands of in-dividual states that can identify what they do or do need. A “one-size-fits-all” plan for the entire nation is not what we need to continue our path of economic prosperity. It only encour-ages the government’s wasting of tax-payer dollars on unnecessary programs.

By Ben Hemphill

PRESIDENT OF MC REPUBLICANSRomney believes that through free-mar-ket enterprise, we will lower the cost of health insurance for individuals by giv-ing public health care options to private companies that will be need to keep pric-es low to stay competitive. in this way, those who need health care coverage can get the benefits that they need, and those who do not need the coverage can keep more of their own hard-earned money.

An argument that I have heard bandied about in Christian communities is that a universal health care program is some-thing that coincides with Jesus’ man-date to care for the needy and impover-ished among us. However, as a strongly devout Christian, I recognize that Jesus’ call to care for the poor is an individu-al one, and not something that is to be executed through forceful government regulations. If we want to lift the poor out of poverty, the best means to do so is through growing the economy as a whole, not simply redistributing the wealth that already exists, which will ultimately cripple the job creators in this country.

As Christians, we should take compas-sion on those who are less fortunate than we are, but Obamacare is simply not the right avenue to do so. Obamacare is not a beneficial piece of legislation to any-one except those who are unwilling to take the initiative to better their own lives. Romney’s goal as President of the United States is to get the government off of people’s backs, and help foster an environment in which everyone has the equal opportunity and potential to be as successful as they want to be.

Provided by moreguefile.com

I

October 17, 2012 Arts & Entertainment 6The Swinging Bridge

This Month’s ‘3rd in the Burg’ Offers Opportunity to Experience Local CultureLocal businesses throughout Harrisburg celebrate local art and culture this Friday

By Mary-Grace MacNeilA&E EDITOR

Messiah seniors Emma Huntington and Lauren Nickell enjoy coffee fromMidtown Scholar’s cafe. In honor of Fair Trade month, Midtown will host an information session on coffee’s origins and a fair-trade tea sampling at the up-coming 3rd in the Burg.

By Amie Miller

Constellation sighting: The State Museum of Pennsylvania

The state museum invites the commu-nity to be the first to check out their just-renovated “Planetarium XD” with its new state-of-the-art Spitz SciDome projection. The museum is offering free Planetarium admission (on a first-come, first-serve basis) for the presentation of their new show, “We Are Astronomers,” at 11:30 a.m., noon and 12:30 p.m.

Contemporary painting and DJ spins: North Gallery

North Gallery will present a joint exhibit of contemporary paint-ing featuring artists AndrewGuth and Janette Toth. An open-ing reception with the artists will take place from 7-10 p.m. The view-ing experience will be complemented by light refreshments and live music spun by North Gallery’s in-house DJ.

he Harrisburg community will celebrate local culture at this month’s “3rd in the Burg” on Friday, Oct. 19. The city’s visitors will find hand-fuls of opportunities to experience Pennsylvanian culture—from tast-

ing local food to seeing and hearing the work of local artists and musicians.This celebration of local art takes place on the third Friday of every month. According to their Facebook page, “3rd in the Burg” is a non-profit organization that seeks to pro-mote a greater cultural experience for the city of Harrisburg. The list below features some participating venues. Visit the “3rd in the Burg” Facebook page and 3rdinthe-burg.com for addresses, contact information and a list of all participating venues.

T

he Rough and Tumble, made up of duo Mallory Graham and Scott Tyler, will bring their folk pop sound to campus next week

all the way from Nashville, Tenn. Their music is characterized by slow, harmo-nious melodies, creating a sound similar to that of The Weepies or The Civil Wars. The duo splits time on the creation of their soft yet strong vocals, and the in-strumentals are primarily made up of Graham’s chord organ and Tyler’s guitar. As a relatively new band, the duo has only been producing albums for the past year. Their latest record-ings are comprised of a mini five-

track album titled “For You, Now That You’re Married … and for me, too.” The album reflects the traditional har-monious blend of the couple’s voices, characterized by vocals that emit a feel-ing of warmth and calamity despite their often simultaneously upbeat vibe.

The album’s opening track, “Away, Away,” features this dynamic vocal blend layered overtop of clapping and noisemakers. This track’s clap-along feel reflects an almost blue-grass sound. Their Nashville roots are appar-ent on “Our Song (I’m Sorry)” through Tyler’s guitar riffs and Gra-ham’s vocals that transition from catchy, country-like melodious talk-ing to strong and powerful singing.

“Wide Eyed” plays like a lullaby, and the soft sound of both Gra-ham and Tyler’s voices lull the listener into a state of serenity. The vocal and instrumental variation on the next track, “Not Polite,” reflect the mixed feelings evident in the song’s lyrics. The last song of the mini-album, “Porcelain Fingers” carries a soft and slow static-like sound that proceeds to quicken as the song continues. Together, the short album showcases a wide variety of unique sounds. It’s clear that this duo has the musical tal-ent necessary to switch things up with-out ever losing their own authenticity.

The Rough and Tumble brings ambient folk pop to Messiah for next B-sides

By Zach SpechtSPORTS EDITOR

Duo Mallory Graham and Scott Tyler create a serene sound characterized by strong yet soothing vocals

The Rough and Tumble will perform at B-sides,

a series of weekly concerts sponsored

by Messiah College’s Student

Activities Board, on Oct. 24 at 10 p.m. As

always, the concert will be held at the Larsen

Student Union for free.

Fair trade tea, improv, and music: Midtown Scholar Bookstore

In honor of Fair Trade month, Mid-town will host an information session on coffee’s origins at noon and a fair-trade tea sampling at 2 p.m. “TMI,” an improv theatre group, will per-form at 6 p.m., and the Yellow Wall Gallery will host its opening reception for “Drawing Midtown” with Ammon Perry and Jonathan Bean from 6-10 p.m. The night will end with a concert by Gatsby’s Green Light & Jeff Miller at 8 p.m.

Local artwork and refreshments: City House B&B

City House B&B, a charming urban bed and breakfast on Front Street, will host an art exhibition featuring works from local artists such as Karen Cummings, Don Lenker, Steve Wetzel, Paul Gallo, Joseph LaFrance and Kelly Charles-worth from 5-9 p.m. City House B&B will serve refreshments.

T


Join our vibrant academic community of faculty and students as we explore a vision of higher education that is rooted in and shaped by a Christian view of life. Examine foundational contexts of American higher education. And develop expertise in contributing effectively to college students’ success in and out of the classroom. Come and further prepare to become one of tomorrow’s perceptive, principled, and skilled leaders of colleges and universities.

www.geneva.edu/higher_ed • 724-847-6510

Enroll in The Master of Arts in Higher Education Program at Geneva College—and Take Your Career to the Next Level.

HIGHER EDUCATION • ORGANIZATIONAL LEADERSHIP • COUNSELING

SPECIAL EDUCATION • MBA • CARDIOVASCULAR SCIENCE • READING

GR ADUATE PROGRAMS

GENEVA COLLEGE

COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES ARE CALLING. ACCEPT THE CALL.

he School of the Humani-ties will host a multi-genre literature symposium from Oct. 24-26. The symposium

titled “Working: A Symposium on Lit-erature and Labor” will feature a va-riety of free events including panel discussions, lectures and readings all

Upcoming Literature Symposium Celebrates Poetry and FictionAward-winning poet Julia Kasdorf and author Susan Perabo will speak during the upcoming literature symposium

By Christina BrownSTUDENT WRITER

centered around the theme of work.

This theme will include both the subject of “work” present in lit-erature as well as the action of “work” in reference to writing itself.Among the schedule of events in-cludes readings from award-win-ning poet Julia Kasdorf and no-table fiction author Susan Perabo.Kasdorf, who currently teaches at Pennsylvania State University, has

written several books of poetry in-cluding “Sleeping Preacher,” which received the 1991 Agnes Starrett Po-etry Prize and the Great Lakes Col-leges Award for New Writing in 1993.She has also written biographies and books on the Amish American and Men-nonite cultures. Her collection of essays and poems titled “The Body and the Book: Writing from a Mennonite Life” won the Book of the Year Award from

Modern Language Association’s Con-ference on Christianity and Literature.Perabo, another college professor, cur-rently teaches at Dickinson College. Her story collection “Who I Was Supposed to Be” was named Book of the Year by the Los Angeles Times, The Miami Her-ald, and The St. Louis Post Dispatch.Her non-fiction work has also recently appeared in several magazines and an-thologies, and she is presently work-ing on a new collection of short stories.

3-4:15 p.m.Boyer 130

“Belabored Expressions: African American Women’s Literary Labors”Panel Discussion 7:30-9 p.m.Frey 150

Fiction Reading: Susan Perabo

Wednesday, Oct. 24

3-4:15 p.m.Boyer 231

“Literature at Work”Panel Discussion, B231 7:30-9 p.m.Frey 150

Poetry Reading: Julia Kasdorf

Thursday, Oct. 25 Friday, Oct. 26

11 -11:50 a.m.Parmer Cinema

“What Work Is: A Conversation with Julia Kasdorf and Susan Perabo” 12 -12:50 p.m.Howe Atrium

“Lunch Discussion: English Majors Talk about Their Journey”

T


he Intouchables” tells a heart-warming story about the les-sons learned from an unlikely friendship that develops be-

tween two men of starkly different cultures. The French film, directed by Olivier Nakache and Eric Toledano, creates a bold testimony to the power of cross-cultural friendship, eliciting both laughter and tears along the way. Based on a true story, the film unfolds the relationship between two men who outwardly appear entirely different: Philippe (Francois Cluzet), a middle-aged white millionaire stricken to a life of quadriplegia after a hang-gliding accident, and his newly hired care-taker Driss (Omar Sy), a young black street thug with a criminal record.

By Mary-Grace MacNeil

A&E EDITOR“The Intouchables” celebrates the collision of these two worlds, as the characters simultaneously learn from their cultural differences and bond over their human similarities. The film’s French audience welcomed the uplifting story by flocking to the-atres. Only nine weeks after its release in November of 2011, “Les Intouch-ables” had become the second all-time biggest box office hit in France. Six months later, The Weinstein Com-pany released the film in the U.S bearing English subtitles and the re-spectively translated title “The Intouch-ables.” But the mixed criticism in the initial crop of movie reviews seemed to reflect a less embracive response from the film’s American audience. Some critics knocked the film for its apparent insensitivity to some seri-ous issues. In a review for The Wash-

ington Post, Michael O’Sullivan criticized the film’s focus on “fun” as an unrealistic depiction of life marked by quadriplegia or poverty.

But maybe this movie is less of a doc-umentary on the inevitable effects of these un-chosen circumstances and much more of a story about the effects of chosen responses to these realties. After all, the film’s title highlights the socially constructed status of its char-acters, uniting them not as “The Disad-vantaged” but as “The Intouchables.”

Of course, the situations of Driss and Philippe are not perfectly analogous. However, their parallelism in the film encourages a new perspective on the similarities of the human condition. Both are limited by realities beyond their control: one by race and poverty, and the other by physical paralysis. The friendship chronicled in “The In-touchables” creates the possibility for the characters to respond to their disabling situations—to find a balance between embracing the reality of their limitation and rejecting its ownership of them. In a review for The New York Times, A. O. Scott criticized Sy’s performance for its exaggerated blackness. He suggested that the film’s racial stereotyping “may be more regressive than liberating,” arguing that by addressing race at all is to get it wrong. But to reject race en-tirely (simply because we haven’t done such a good job with it in the past) is to try to avoid the reality of ethnicity.

Instead of the color blind approach that Scott seems to suggest, “The In-touchables” illuminates racial differ-ences. Driss claims the funky beats of stereotypical black culture with ethnic pride, and he eventually learns to ap-preciate Philippe’s musical preferenc-es without ever removing soul music from its treasured spot in his identity. Throughout the film, Driss’ incandes-cent sense of identity, illuminated by Sy’s strong acting, challenges Philippe to confront the reality of his disability. Driss encourages Philippe to identify with his quadriplegia in order to fully embrace his ability to live and to love. But while Driss accepts the cards he was dealt, he also gives in to soci-ety’s rules of the game. He plays his hand, but only with the belief that he had already lost before he even began. Driss had previously allowed the real-ity of his race, class and poverty to con-sume his identity. They justified his life of crime and lack of discipline. Driss

only applies for the caretaker position with the intention of rejection, hoping to receive proof of a failed interview in order to continue receiving welfare benefits. After he is surprisingly hired, his idolization of his own culture closes him off to experiencing anything else. But Driss remains in Philippe’s world long enough for it to change him. He develops a work ethic un-der the strict management of his new boss, and he learns to appreciate the music and art of another culture. Likewise, Philippe is changed by his friendship with Driss. Through Driss’ care-free lifestyle—marked by notes of flirtation, soul music and marijuana—Philippe regains an appeal for life in all of its zest. The characters’ growth through-out the film demonstrate what can be learned about life and iden-tity by viewing it through a differ-ent lens—by experiencing cultural collision without collateral damage.

Despite some negative reviews, the film’s box office success suggest-ed a remarkably different response from the American audience. Since its U.S. release in May, “The In-touchables” stands as the top gross-ing foreign language film of 2012. The film’s global box office success of-fers an optimistic representation of so-ciety’s hopes for cultural integration.

‘The Intouchables’ Encourages Audience to View Life Through a Different LensFrench film unfolds a story of unlikely friendship between a white, wealthy quadriplegic and his young, black ex-con caretaker

“T


t was a sun-bathed, chilly fall morning. It was the kind of day that made me

feel blessed to be living in Pennsyl-vania. A group of students met to participate in the LEAP program. We were there to learn how to manage life tran-sitions with equine, counseling and ministry professionals, including Mes-siah’s Associate Pastor Evie Telfer.

However, our teachers that day weren’t our human companions. Our teachers were two horses, Monty and Wooser. Monty was a gentle, chestnut geld-ing who appeared part canine, evi-denced by his desire to lick anyone within licking distance. Wooser was a spirited, slightly mischievous stal-lion who preferred nibbling to licking.

Our first task at this event was for my partner and me to walk to the far end of the pasture and convince Monty and Wooser to walk to our group waiting at the opposite end. We didn’t have any of the usual horse paraphernalia, no harnesses or ropes, just our voices and powers of persuasion. We compli-mented then softly, patted their backs, and stroked their manes whilst at-tempting to woo them to the other side.

hristians in Pakistan live un-der daily threats of being dis-criminated and even perse-cuted for their faith. On Aug.

16, 14-year-old Pakistani Rimsha Ma-sih was arrested on charges of blasphe-my after she allegedly burned a copy of the Islamic primer Noorani Qaida.

Following an attack at her house by an angry mob of screaming Muslims, Rimsha was seized by police and taken to a high security prison, one where leading terrorists are condemned to serve their time. Rimsha, however, denied burning the pages, and her parents stated that no one in their family would ever disrespect Islam.

Released on bail on Sept. 8, Rimsha was escorted together with her fam-ily to an undisclosed location. Her case was sent to juvenile court when health records confirmed her age and

a police investigation concluded that she had been framed by a Muslim reli-gious leader in her village. After these reports surfaced, her lawyers petitioned the high court for dismissal of the case.

Rimsha’s trial is delayed un-til October 17 while the high court considers their verdict.

Where is the consistency in these proceed-ings? There are no witnesses who claim to have seen Rimsha burning the pages, and there is no further evidence that it was her who committed the “crime.”

Rimsha also has Down Syndrome. In light of all this, how can the government justify the action it has taken against her? Is the blasphemy law to be taken so far that Muslim leaders are reduced to the bullying of a special needs child in order to enforce its strict adherence?

Though this particular case has stirred international concern, Rimsha is cer-tainly not the only victim of Pakistan’s

questionable blasphemy law. There have been thousands of blasphemy cases recorded since the 1980s, and their outcomes have ranged from im-prisonment to the death sentence.

Atrocious? Unethical? To me, the pun-ishments under the blasphemy law and even the law itself seem to be just that. However, while it is easy to point out the flaws and corruption of the governmen-tal policies Pakistan employs, it is im-portant to take into account the fact that Pakistani society has been indoctrinat-ed with nothing but Islamic ideologies since its formation in 1947. Tragic as this situation is, we can hardly expect a soci-ety founded on a religion of fear to up-hold the moral principles and values to which we as Americans are accustomed. How then should American Christians respond to Rimsha’s case and the ex-tensive religious oppression in Paki-stan? I wish I had an adequate answer. Obviously, we cannot solve all of Paki-stan’s internal governmental, social,

Rimsha Masih: Blasphemer or Beloved?By Abigail FerenczySTUDENT WRITER

To learn more about how you can be a voice for Rimsha and the persecuted church, go to http://advocacy.opendoorsusa.org. For information on the human rights awareness group at Messiah College, email [email protected].

and religious issues. But there is some action we can take. First and foremost, we need to be in prayer for our Paki-stani brothers and sisters in Christ.

Furthermore, when there is an op-portunity to speak out against injus-tice on their behalf, we need to seize it. Pakistani Christians may be forced into silence, but we certainly are not. Whether through writing, speaking, or some other means, we need to plead the cause of Rimsha and others like her.

After all, if a 14-year old girl is willing to take a life-threatening stand for her faith, the least we can do is stand behind her.

Adjusting my Approach: What I learned from Monty and Wooser

It took a little time as Monty relented first, taking steps toward my partner.

Wooser on the other hand looked quiz-zically at me with no inclina-tion to acqui-esce. I began to panic as I con-sidered failing this challenge. I wanted that

horse to follow me and demon-strate to the group my horse whis-pering skills. He still didn’t move.

I decided to adjust my approach be-cause that huge, powerful animal was not going to do anything that he didn’t want to do and I certainly couldn’t make him do otherwise. Even as I in-sisted that he “Follow me this instant,” I turned my back to him and walked away with my partner and Monty, hoping that Wooser may feel that he was miss-ing something and decide to pursue.

Guess what? He did come. I tried not to look back with excitement. I feigned indifference to our apparent success because I was afraid that he might decide that he didn’t like the idea of this any longer and turn around.

This experiment wasn’t simply about horses it was also about people. We want people to think like we think, feel as we

feel and do what we do and sometimes we try to insist or force people to do just that. However, similar to our animal counterparts, we can’t compel people to do things, feel things or think things. In fact, similar to horses, the more we attempt to force people to do what we want, the more they will resist even considering our requests or ideologies.

In our interactions, I could have chosen to grab Wooser’s mane and attempt to yank him forward or swatted his behind

to get his attention. Such actions may have caused physical harm to me, and emotional harm to our relationship. If I had treated Wooser in such a way, would he ever allow me to approach him again?

Likewise, if we attack people with our opinions and beliefs with the insistence that they feel or think the same, our rela-tionships with them will suffer. Even if we feel our opinions and beliefs are good and sincere, our presentation of them will demonstrate the opposite. Just as those horses chose to be in our presence and do as we asked, people can chose to listen to us and make decisions of their own. They may chose our course or not, but if we don’t adjust or approach to a more loving, caring one we can be al-most certain they will chose the latter.

By Susan Ryder

STUDENT WRITER

“Our teachers that day weren’t

our human companions”

Provided by morguefile.com

I

C

October 17, 2012 Sports 10The Swinging Bridge

By Joel HooverASSISTANT RADIO MANAGER

A

A Pitchside View

Provided by Messiah College Athletics

s fall deepens and the air turns cooler, conference play is be-ginning to heat up for teams

across the Division III soccer landscape.

For Messiah’s men’s and women’s teams, conference play has been smooth sailing thus far. Hoping to tweak the squad to find the right fit amid injuries and varying degrees of player form, both Falcon teams have started the con-ference season perfect.

It’s been a start filled with good defense, plenty of goals, and yes—a few marsh-mallows on a certain Saturday.

Women’s SoccerRanked #2 in the latest NSCAA Coaches’ poll, the Messiah women opened Com-monwealth Conference play on Sept. 29 with a 4-0 road win over conference debutants Stevenson. Alex Brandt and Rachel Scheibler scored 40 seconds apart 15 minutes into the first half to give the Falcons a comfortable halftime lead. Alicia Frey and Nikki Elsaesser rounded off the scoring with goals al-most two minutes apart 15 minutes into the second.

The women continued their good run with another 4-0 win, this time away at Alvernia on Oct. 2. It was a game of firsts, as Mackenzie Clapper scored her first goal of the season in the 30th min-ute and Kyele Bridel scored her first col-legiate goal in the 43rd. Brandt added two more goals after halftime to seal another easy victory.Marshmallows weren’t flying yet when the Messiah women took the field against rivals Elizabethtown on Oct.6. However, a packed Shoemaker Field crowd of over 2,000 fans were on hand to see the Falcons cruise to a 3-0 win. Frey scored a first half penalty, while Scheibler and Brandt picked up second half goals to beat back a spirited fight by the visiting Blue Jays.

Equally as impressive, goalkeeper Au-dra Larson and the Messiah defense picked up their eight consecutive shut-

out, and have now gone 795 minutes without conceding a goal. They will put that streak on the line with upcoming games away against Lebanon Valley on Oct. 13, and home against Lycoming on Oct. 16 and Widener on Oct. 20 for homecoming.

Men’s SoccerThe #3 ranked Messiah men currently stand at 12-0-1 on the season following their perfect start to conference play. It began with a 6-1 road win at Stevenson following the Messiah women’s victory at the same location. Brian Ramirez scored his first goal of the season on a free kick, while Jeremy Payne and Mike Kovach both scored twice and Bryant Myer added another. They continued their unbeaten start to the season with a 2-0 road win at Alvernia on Oct. 3, where Payne and Josh Wood got the goals for the Falcons.

That set the Falcons up for one of the biggest rivalries in Division III sports—the Marshmallow Bowl with Elizabeth-town on Oct. 6 in Grantham. A prime fixture since the 1980s, Messiah entered with a series record of 30-17-2 against Etown, including winning the last six games between the two teams.

With 3,900 fans in the stands, the Fal-cons registered the biggest shutout in the history of the rivalry, winning 4-0 amid a snowstorm of marshmallows from the crowd. Wood struck twice in the first half, while Kovach and Payne also scored in the second half to send Blue Jay fans home early.

The Falcons continued their goalscoring ways with a 9-1 romp over Common-wealth Conference newcomers Hood on Oct. 9. Double strikes by Jack Thomp-son and Sheldon Myer, as well as single goals from Wood, Bryant Myer, JP Ful-ton, Danny Rowe, and Benji Kennel, completed the scoreline for Messiah.

The men follow the same upcoming schedule as the women, except for play-ing home against Widener on Oct. 17.

KICKIN’ IT WITHTHE SWINGING BRIDGE

EDITORIAL TEAM

STEPHANIE WILSONEDITOR-IN-CHIEF

NIKKI RITANEWS EDITOR

HUY NGUYENOPINIONS EDITOR

NICHOLAS TAYFEATURE EDITOR

MARY-GRACE MACNEILA&E EDITOR

ZACHARY SPECHTSPORTS EDITOR

by Sarah Brookhart


By Carter DavisSTUDENT WRITER

olf legend Bobby Jones once said, “Golf is played on a five-

inch course, right between your ears.”

Troy Boone, head coach of Messiah’s golf team, believes this year’s team is one of the most talented teams he has ever coached, yet the team struggled early on. After placing 4th in their host tournament, the wheels came off at Bucknell where Messiah finished at a disappointing 7th place. Boone believed something might be going on in that little five-inch course.

Enter Ron Jones, a club pro at Bumble Bee Hollow Country Club and a “Class A” member of the PGA, renowned for his specialization in the mental aspect of golf.Jones worked with Messiah’s team in short sessions in order to get to know the players’ styles.

“I start with what are the strengths and how do we build on those, and once that’s done start looking at what isn’t working and how to improve on those levels.”

While everyone is different in their men-tal processes, Jones wanted his students on a common line before every shot.

“I want [my students] to entertain the thought of, “I’m getting ready to hit the best shot I’ve hit all day.” Be fully confi-dent, and fully committed.”

Part of confidence for Jones is estab-lishing a baseline, a realistic expecta-tion of an average score, then identify-ing potential. “If I’m an 80 shooter now, I’d ask, “could I shoot 72 realistically?” and if so, then what do I need to do to achieve that,” Jones said of the process he used with the Messiah team.

Every person’s mind has different sets of motivations and mental pitfalls that define each individual as unique. Jones tries not to direct the team to any par-ticular uniform mindset, but rather he directs them towards what works for them individually.


Jones highlighted that a common prob-lem among players arises from not stay-ing in the present moment. Thinking about what the lead is, a missed putt, or those back-to-back birdies on the last two holes take your focus away from the immediate.

Some players divide their round into in-crements of three holes and set goals for each increment; for others, three holes is too long for them. They play a more shot to shot kind of game.Distractions stemming from personal, or academic problems need to be ad-dressed as well.

“One thing I asked the coach is what is it that your guys are fearing before they even get on the course,” Jones said. “Are they focused on a big exam or they have a girlfriend problem or whatever else it may be. Because if that’s there, it’s really hard to turn that off.”

The first set of sessions yielded surpris-ingly immediate results. Messiah broke out of a slump from Bucknell and took 3rd at PSU-Harrisburg. They proceeded to win back-to-back matches at Eliza-bethtown and Lebanon Valley.

Most players found the time very ben-eficial in shaping their mindset.

“It’s obvious by our scores that some-thing changed, and part of that change was from analyzing and improving our mental games,” said sophomore Austin Galaska.

“We are playing with more confidence and having more fun,” Galaska said. “Overall we are playing within ourselves and not trying to “make” something happen. We don’t need to “make” any-thing happen because we all have the skill to go low on any day of the week.”

“I would say my mindset was just re-laxed,” freshman Wes Ashton said. “I just took all the strokes one shot at a time. The only thing you can control is the here and now, that will decide the end of your round. You can’t think about

finishing when you’re on the first hole.”Boone will continue to have Jones work with his team after the swift improve-ment exhibited by his team.

“They showed me that they are im-proving mentally when our competi-tors struggled and shot higher scores,” Boone said. “We have much work to do to prepare for the spring when we play for our conference championship and then hopefully on to the NCAAs.”

Golf Psychology

see anew

messiah.edu/education • 796.5061

New classes start every spring, summer and fall.

Messiah College’s M.Ed. degree program offers specialized tracks* in:• Special education

• Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL)

*option for Pennsylvania certification in both tracks

Or choose from non-degree program options in:

• English as a Second Language (ESL) program specialist

• Instructional II certification and/or Pennsylvania Inclusive Classrooms/Standards Aligned Systems requirement courses

• Act 48 continuing education credits

Online | Flexible | Affordable

by Sarah Brookhart

G


Photo by Lauren Landis

JESS VISNESKIcross-country

BRIAN LOESSERgolf


junior nutrition major, Jess Visneski is amidst her third season as a member of the Mes-

siah College cross-country team.

Visneski has been involved in running cross-country since sophomore year of high school.

“There are many perks to being a run-ner, but something that keeps me com-ing back year after year is the team. Cross country teams are composed of

all around fun, hardworking and deter-mined individuals and are an encour-agement through every path that life leads us down,” said Visneski.

Running is a sport that serves as a com-mon ground amongst the Visneski fam-ily. “Both my mom and sister ran cross-country for a few years, and although I always enjoyed running I never consid-ered running competitively until mak-ing a deal with my friend, Aubrey,” said Visneski.

Being from Lancaster, PA, Visneski chose to attend Messiah College because of the proximity to home and the unique Christian environment on campus.

“I chose to come to Messiah because it offered many of the key characteristics that I was looking for, such as a small Christian school with an accredited Nu-trition and Dietetics Department. In ad-dition, I wanted to go to a college where I could run cross-country. I love how running for Messiah means running for something bigger than yourself,” said Visneski.

During her first two years as a member of the cross-country team, Visneski has qualified for the MAC Championships and Regionals as both a first year and

sophomore.For Visneski, achieving success is an accomplishment that is not confined to how one finishes at a performance.

“Coach Fogelsanger has 3 main goals for the team which are to have fun, become more self-motivated and to become more Christ centered/focused. These qualities are the backbone of the cross-country team, which is why being apart of MCXC is such an incredible, life-en-riching experience,” said Visneski.

When Visneski is not running, she can be found traveling, hiking in the moun-tains, listening to country music, and baking.

As the cross-country team engages in a new season, both individual and teams goals will be embraced.

“My goals for this season are to break my personal record and to run at the MAC championships and Regional Rac-es,” said Visneski.

Pregame rituals cannot be overlooked and consistency is an element of com-petition that most athletes elect to prac-tice.

“Before meets I listen to various genres

of music but one thing that stays con-sistent is listening to a few songs by J. Biebs,” said Visneski.Similar to most sports, running is a sport that successfully integrates life values amidst competition and adver-sity.

“The tough workouts stress the im-portance of relying on God’s strength, while the LSD (long-slow distance) runs remind me to relax while run-ning on back roads and taking in the scenery. The team aspect teaches the importance of encouragement because that is what gets us through practices, races, stressful test days, and hectic schedules,” said Visneski.

Athletes that elect to attend Messiah College often take advantage of the unique opportunity to integrate talent and faith.

“Personally, running for Messiah re-minds me to give thanks to god and that my ultimate goal should be to glo-rify God through the abilities that he’s given me. This is reinforced through the role model that coaches set, by starting each practice with a team prayer, par-ticipating in small groups throughout the week and attending weekly bible study with teammates,” said Visneski.

By Zachary SpechtSPORTS EDITOR

A


SBy Zachary Specht

SPORTS EDITOR

on of Dave and Eileen, Brian Loesser is a junior physical edu-cation major at Messiah College.

Golf is a sport that has garnered Loess-er’s attention since an early age.

“I have been golfing since I was around the age of 13, mostly with my brothers

and dad. I enjoy the sport of golf be-cause it can be relaxing and help you put the stress of everyday life to the side and just focus on the game,” said Loesser.

Being born in a family full of soccer players, golf is not a sport that came naturally to Loesser.

“Golf is not a sport that other members in my family have played. Me, my dad, and brothers have played soccer our en-tire lives. My brother played college soc-cer but switched to golf and that has had an immense impact on my life because it influenced me want to be like him and play golf in college,” said Loesser.

As a transfer student from Cairn Uni-versity, Loesser found an easy transition to Messiah College.

“I transferred to Messiah after my fresh-man year and showing up last fall was an easy transition because the golf team was very inviting. The thing that I love most about the golf team is that we are a smaller group of guys who know how to have fun and enjoy the sport,” said Loesser.

As the golf team winds down their fall season and looks ahead to the spring season, both individual and team goals are embraced.

“For the spring season my goal, as an individual, is to win a tournament but mainly to average an overall score in the 70’s. As a team, our goal is to make it to the national championship,” said Loesser.

When Loesser is not on the golf course or at the driving range, he can be found playing basketball, soccer, and visit-ing new places. Among other hobbies, Loesser loves to indulge in anything “Buffalo” such as Buffalo chicken chees-esteaks or Buffalo chicken wings.

“I am always cutting people’s hair across campus and I’ve become very skilled at this hobby, so if anyone needs a haircut I am available,” said Loesser.

As an athlete, Loesser loves to watch a variety of sporting events. Growing up close to Philadelphia, Loesser is an avid fan of all Philadelphia sports teams. Loesser’s favorite athletes are Tiger

Woods and Michael Jordan.

Role models profoundly impact young athletes and the consistency of a reliable influence cannot be undervalued.

“The person I look up to most is my dad, he has shown me how to become the person that I am today. He is a very good role model on how to manage your money, faith, and family; I one day will be like him,” said Loesser.

Aside from competition, golf is a sport that teaches athletes life lessons on and off the green.

Golf has taught me how to display self-control when playing a sport. Golf can be frustrating at times, especially when one bad shot can shape your whole round. It takes mental focus to success-fully overcome bad shots, that’s what makes shapes you to be a good golfer,” said Loesser.

Upon graduating from Messiah College, Loesser plans to teach physical educa-tion at the high school level.

Documents

The Swinging Bridge: Oct 17, 2012