.9 ^ AdventisrUmvemty |The Magazine of Southern 7 SOUTHERNADVENTISTUNIV McKeeLib Vol. 60 No. 2 105908-120 fiCr-8 200t ^^, :r;.\. *:.Sii> DiveJn Summer School in the Tropics p. 8 | ^M^ mt ^t yc" Christianity and Love After A Groundbreaking 2008 Postmodernism Graduation Library Opening Comments Reading Time Would you like tobe ajudgefortheLegacy!" Freshmanoutdoor leadershipmajorSuzanneOcsaiasked,herfaceradiatingwith thesame excitementaswhen Ihadassignedherastoryon the Adventist RoboticsLeague (page 25). "Oh!" I paused, tryingtobuytimeasmymindraced. 1 lookedoverat thewall where I hadjusthungacomplicated multi-coloredschedule that mappedout thedetailsot thenextfourmonthsofmylife. Ihadanexciting butbusysummerplanned:producingtwoperiodicals, startinggradschool, writingachildren'sbook. Ijustdidn'tseehow1 wouldhave the time. Ontheotherhand, the Legacyhassuchaspecial place inmyheart. Asastudent, 1 hadworked with the literarypublication, andjudgingtheLegacy would he likecomingfullcircle. (Besure toread about theLegacy'sstartonpage 31.)CertainlyI couldfind timeforsomethingsospecial! Aftersev- eralbrokensentencesthat I'msuremadenosense toSuzanne asmywords tried tokeepupwithmy thoughts, I agreed toherrequest. I know I'm nottheonlyonewhostruggles to hndextrareadingtime. IfIweretemptedtothinkI were, allI wouldhavetodoisreviewthereadership surveyweconducted lastyeartosee that I'mnot. Thoseofyouwhowererandomlyselected topartici- pate inthesurveysaid that you lo\'ethemagazine. Youlovethearticles, you love thedesign, andyou feelproudtohavethismagazineassociatedwith youralmamatter. Yet,overandoveragain, weheard yousayingthatyoujustdidn'thave time toread as Lori Futcher doesn't havetroublefinding stuffto read. How aboutyou ineie die 46 reading muchofitasyouwould like. materialspicturedthroughthismagazine.Canyoufindthemall? That iswhywe've madesomechanges tothis magazine. We're including morebriefarticles,keepingourfeaturesshorter, anddecreasingthe sizeoftheentiremagazinesoyoucanbettersqueeze COLUMNS readingintoyourbusylifestyle. Mygoal istokeepthe magazine inspiringenoughtoreadonFridaynight, intriguingenoughtobringon vacation, andbriefenoughtoreadat thedoctor'soffice. Lori Futcher, Editor P.S. Lookingtormoretoread?Southernhasanewarchaeological librarythat shouldkeepyoubusyforawhile.Learnmoreaboutitonpage 18. 2 • Fall2008 3 Features 8 Summer School in the Tropics This summer, thejungles and beaches of Indonesia served as a classroom for about 20 Southern students. Take a peek at theirjourney through pictures andjournal entries. 12 Christians in a Postmodern Society Education ProfessorJohn Wesley Taylor takes a philosophical look at how Christians ^ should respond to the influences of current cultural trends. Romantic Reunions 14 1.1 Three stories that prove graduation day doesn't necessarily close the book »^&rft^ on Southern love stories. 18 A Library to Dig Through The story of how our small Christian university in Tennessee became a powerhouse forthe study of Near Eastern archaeology. Departments 4 Inbox 5 Teaching Teachers jA 14/ 6 People 21 Spotlight 22 Headlines 29 Mission Minutes 3 1 Scrapbook 32 On the Move COVER:Studentsexploredthe biodiversityofIndonesia,both 34 Life 101 usnudmemrewra'tseTrroapnidcaolnBilaonldo,gyducrliasnsg.this Columns • 1 InBox Busted! Thispatternhasbeenrepeated throughthe I reallyenjoyedthemostrecent issueof years. MarkMcKenzie, '91, andCarlaTyler, '91, COLUMNS. However, I have"busted"some came toSouthern in 1986.Theygotengaged COLUMNS ofthe informationconcerningRachel'sLadder. talloftheirsenioryearand were marriedshortly Theauthorwrites that thestepswere modified aftergraduation. intheearly '70s. Havinggraduated in 1971, AndyNash, '94, cametoSouthern in 1989. Volume 60 Number 2 rememberwalkingthose modifiedstepsdaily. Hefoundhissoulmatehissenioryear, when I paged throughthe'69 and '70annualsand CindyGriffin,attended, transferredfromSouth- found apictureonpage 179ofthe 1970South- western.Theirweddingwas inJune 1995, one emMemories.Thepictureshowsshorterdepth yearafterAndygraduatedfromSouthern. ExecutiveEditor:RuthieGray,'99&'04 on thestepsthanwereoriginallybuilt. AnhandVanessaPhamcamealready mar- ManagingEditor:Lori Futcher,'94 riedtoSouthern in 2005,Anh tocomplete LayoutEditor:IngridSkantz,'90 Peg Griffin, '71 abachelor's injournalismandVanessato AssistantLayoutEditor:AvionneFrye,'02 investigate themaster'sprogram inevangelism Editorial Wrong Wife andworld mission. Anh isplanningtograduate Assistants: thisyear. I wasdelighted tofind anarticleonmy father(BeecherLafever) inarecent issueof R. Lynn Sauls, '56 COLUMNS [spring2008]. I amdisappointed, however, in theediting. Firstly, hisnamewas Retired From What Job? spelledtwodifferentways in the article (Lafever andLefever). Also, he isnot married toSusan; I'mnot sure whosubmitted the informa- mymother'sname isJoAnne (Wassell) Lafever tionforKenonpage 38ofthe Spring 2008 (classof'66). COLUMNS,butacorrection isdefinitely in I loveyourmagazineandthegraduate order.The itemunder'"50s"states: "Kenneth features. WrightJr., attended, retiredfromworkingasa treasurerattheGeneralConference."Nodoubt Mindi (Lafever) Guptill, '97 thatwould be abigsurprisetotheGCTreasury Department! Kendidwork in thedepartment, butnotas treasurer. Wenowlive in"wildand Southern Marriages wonderful"WestVirginia. Congratulations toAshleyCheneyfor "Mythbusters: SouthernEdition" inthespring Ruth Wright issue. Itwas interesting r.ome thatwhen it comestothe total numberofgraduatesandat- Futcher Fan tendeessince theschool'sbeginning. South- em's rateofmarriages isnohigherthanother 1 wantedtomentionwhatanicejobLori Adventistschools. I haveafeelingthatthe rate Futcherisdoingastheeditor.Thewritingand washigher inthe 1940sand 1950s,whenSMC articlesarever^'welldone. stoodnotonlyforSouthernMissionaryCollege By theway, myparents, Wolfgang, '72, and butalso"SouthernMatrimonyCollege." Hazelvon Maack, attended, andgrandparents Whethertherateofmarriages ishighor low, Williamand MercedsBemalknew/knowCyril couplesoftengetacquainted andfall in loveat Futcher'sfamilyandhavefond memoriesof Southern.Theircourtshipsmay leadtomarriage theirtimewith them at Southern. beforegraduation, rightaftergraduation, ora Jennifer von Maack, '89 shorttimeaftergraduation. Somecouplescome toSouthernalreadymarried. Herearesome examplesofvarietiesofSouthernmarriages. HelenBraat, '52 and '63, andIcame to Southern in 1950.We were marriedattheend InBox is a forum for reader feedback. Questions, concerns, compliments, criticisms, ofoursophomoreyear. — and even discussions all are welcome and BillWampler, '51,and BettyGrounds,at- encouraged. Letters may be edited for length tended,cametoSouthern inthelate '40s.Their or clarity. Please send InBox letters to: courtshipledtomarriageafewdaysafterBill COLUMNS Editor, PO Box 370, Collegedale, TN, receivedabachelor'sdegree in theology. 37315-0370 or email [email protected]. Teaching Teachers rve Learned to Listen for the Story was 10p.m. My longdayofteachingat thesprawlingcitycampusof It thestate universitywasfinallyover. 1 rushed togathermyhooksand lecture notesanddeposit them in myoffice. The studentswere gone; the bySylviaMayer,SchoolofNursing huildingempty and still. Withcarkeys in hand, 1 opened the nursing builduigdoorprepared tomovequickly tothesafetyofmycar. 1 nearly trippedoverastudentsittingdejectedlyon thedarkstep. Charrie* tentativelytapped on myofficedoortorequestanotherday "Tuyet! What areyoudoinghere?" I asked. Asitturnedout,Tuyet's ortwo tocompleteherclassassignmentbecause sheneeded toadda backpackhad beenstolen. Notjustabackpack, butall ofTuyet's most couple moredaystoherhospital workschedule.Therealstory?Char- — preciouspossessions herpassport, rie wasdoingherbest tohelpher visa,journal, books, carkeys, and .i parents, whohadtiledforbankruptcy pictureofthe brotherwhohadbeen forthesecond time. Asaresult, she hersoleparent andhadjustdied in a wascarryingmore than$60,000of Vietnameseprison. debt. Aftertears,prayer, andaplan, "May 1 takeyouhome?" I asked. Charrieslippedout thedoor. "Youcan'tstayhere. It isn'tsafe." Geri* woresunglasses toclass Aftermuch persuasion, she agreed to oneday, explaining thatshe had comehome with me torthe night. hurtherselfandthoughtdarkglasses What 1 knew ofTuyet before that would lookbetterthanthebruises night was thatsheoften missed class. aroundhereyes.Therealstory?Her When she appeared inclass, she trustedboyfriendofseveralyearshad slept soundly in the back row. After physicallyabusedand threatenedher — getting an incomplete one semester, life forthefirsttime. Afterhearing she was repeating the class the ne.xt herstory, 1 wasable tohelp. Instead semester. oflosingclinicalhoursdue toher injuriesandcourtappearances,she But She Had a Story... wasgivenclinicalcreditfortheex- Born under the wrongmoon, Tuyet periencesshe had inthe emergency wasgoingtobegivenaway byher roomandcourt systemasshedealt momwhenherolderbrotherdecided with thedomesticviolenceshehad toraiseherashisown inmilitary intended tokeepsecret. camp. WhenSouthVietnamfell, she Jesse* askedtostartthesemester — wasscooped upby a soldierandputon late heneededafewextradaysfor the lastplane outof thecountry. Tuyet some medicaltreatments. Thereal eventually reunited withher mother SylviaMayerlearnedtheimportanceoflisteninglongbeforeshebecameaprofessorat story?Withoutany appealforsympa- SouthernAdventistUniversity. and relocated to the UnitedStates. thy, thisyoungmanslowly revealed Now,Tuyet'sfamilykeptsendinghertoTexasagainstherwilltobe hisbattlewithcancer.Jessetold me: "1 believe mybattle withcancerhas marriedtoafamily-selected man. Each timeTuyetwouldescape, return beenmysalvation. 1 wouldn'tdoanythingdifferently. Infact, Ihavefound home, andreappear inclass. She supportedherselfbyworkingafull-time my lifework throughthisexperience." I wasinspiredbyJesse'sstrength. night-,shiftposition at the regional postal center. Sheshowered at the universitygym andslept inaback studycarrelat the library. Inspite of The Rest of the Story... missingmultipleclasses, thisdeterminedyoung ladystayedonthe Dean's As time wenton,Tuyet learned that ithadbeenoneofherbrothers List. Mypreviouslycritical ideaofthisstudent'slackofparticipationin whostoleherbackpackfull ofpreciouspossessions. Anotherbrother class was replacedbyawe at herstrengthofresolveand persistenceat stabbedher in the university library. Althougheventuallyforcedtomarry acquiringaneducation. afamily-selectedhusband,Tuyethadthe marriage annulled. Despite all this,Tuyetfinished bothherundergraduate andgraduatedegrees. Now Southern Stories shehasmarried the husbandofherchoiceand raised threeboysofher Twentyyears later, 1 can stillpictureTuyetasleep in thebackrow, and own, plusa niece and nephewwhowould have beengi\'enaway. I'm remindedtolistenforthestory. By listening, 1 get toknowstudentsat LikeTuyet, I knowmystudentswillovercome withGod'shelp. adeeperlevel. I willalwayskeep listeningforthestory. V" "Namehasbeenchanged Columns • 5 People Francesremainingcontentedly inthebackground. Frances Andrews "Mymissionwastohelpthestudents,"she Publishing Pioneer says.Oneofthewayssheassistedwasbyhelp- ingthemfind internshipswithinthe churchand BecominganAdventist in 1943 at age 21, at localbusinesses. COLUMNS FrancesAndrews, '49,hadalreadyspentyears Becomingthe editorof in intheworkforce. Shewasn'tconsideringan 1976, Francescompletelyrevised thepublica- — Adventistcollege oranycollege,forthatmatter. tionfromafour-pagenewslettertoa 16-page ThenonedayafriendtoldFrancesthatarrange- magazine. She alsosponsoredtheAccentfor 18 mentshadbeenmadeforhertoattendSouthern. years,workingclosely withthe editorswhowere Francesarrivedoncampusinthefallof1945. continuing a traditionshehadstarted. Herwell-developedabilitytotype (resultingfrom To thisday, Francesenjoyswatchingherstu- heryearswithRedCross) andhercomposition dentssucceed,statingthatshecanrarelypick skillcaughttheattentionofEnglishChairElaine up achurchpublicationinwhichshedoesn't Giddings,whochoseFrancestobe thefirsteditor see thenameofoneofherstudents. ofthe SouthernAccent. Giddingspromised to UponFrances'retirement in 1987,Tennessee help Francesthroughthe unfamiliarprocessof GovernorNedMcWherterhonoredherwith producingastudentnewspaper.Togetherthey, the firstAwardofMeritcertificate tobe pre- alongwiththefirstmembersoftheAccentstaff, sented toaSouthernfacultymember. Lastyear, createdalastingtraditionforSouthern. at HomecomingWeekend, Southernofficially Afterworkingherway throughcollege, honoredFranceswiththeDistinguishedService Francesleftherroleasstudenttofillthe role of Award, recognizingherfornearly20yearsof professor. Passionatelydevoted tohelpingher service tothe studentsanduniversityshe loves. studentsachieve heights theynever imagined, ~SuzanneOcsai Thisfair-skinned,blue-eyedguygrew up inVirginia, butafteratriptoKenya, hedreamsofthedaywhenhecanreturn. LastfallScottfoundoutthatthecamp dA hehadworkedforwas leadingamission trip toKenyaoverChristmasbreak. He and Lucas Dobyns, anotherSouthern student, signeduptogo. Duringthe trip, Scottdiscoveredhis calling. Beforeleaving,Scottwenttothelocal pharmacytogethisprescriptionfilled — for 30 malariapills butwasgiven 24- He wouldn'thave the recommendedfull seven-day returnsupply. Not thinking muchaboutit,he tookthebottleand wassoonspeedingthroughpuffywhite cloudshighabovetheAtlanticOcean. InKenya, thingswentasplannedun- tilpresidentialelectionsonDecember27. Terribleriotsbrokeout aroundthe country Scottwouldnotbeabletoleave whenscheduled, due tosafetyconcerns. Scott Johnson NajivuniaKuwaMkenya,"announcesScott Scottwasn't tooworried; hewasinasafe Johnson,juniorliberalartseducationmajor. locationandenjoyedhisworkoftrainingyouth Kenya Bound "I amproudtobe Kenyan!" leadersandconductingchildren'sprograms — 7 v; Melodie Lopez transitionwasonlyacoupleyearsago, when she moved toSouthern topursue a newcareerand Friend In the Balancing Act hnishhergraduatedegree. ComingfromForestLakeAcademy, in MelodieLopez'ssoft voice welcomesMoritz Apopka, Florida,Lopezhadbeenassistant to Wieser, graduatebusinessadministration theprincipal. Byservingasa memberofthe student, andhiswife, Danieki, intoheroffice. school'sadministrative team andhelpingwith Theyhavestopped by to let herknowwhat's numerousresponsibilitieswithinthe school. beenhappening in theirlives,justasthey've Lope:hadgained valuable experience inguid- donesomanytimessincecomingtoSouthern. ingstudents throughchallengingsituations. "Whenanythinghappensorifwehavegood NowatSouthern,Lopezdirectsprospective news, we tellher!" Danielasayswith asmile. andnewgraduatestudentsthroughtheapplica- Thecouple'sfriendshipwithLope:, admin- tionprocess,helping themgatherand fill outall istrativeassistantforGraduate Studies, began the needed forms. It theyare missinganything, developingwhiletheywerestill inAustria, shenot only lets themknowhut willhelp them whenMorit: appliedforgraduateschool. findexactlywhat theyneed. Lopezviewswhat "Wealwayshad a goodfeelingwhile talk- shedoesasfarmore thanjustajob. ingtoheron the phone,"says Moritz. "We "Ienjoyconnectingwithpeople,"Lopez had the impression that shewastakingcareof says, "and 1 seemyjobasaformofministry." everythingforus inthebestway." BecauseLopez isworking toward thesame Lopez,whoisoftenthefirstpersonwith goalas thestudentssheworkswith, itmakesit whomonewillcome incontactwhenapplying easierforthemtoconnect withher. tograduateschool at Southern, understands "She knows whatkind oftensions you what it'slike tomake transitions. Herlatest have to face because she is right there in the classroom and can share the experience with you," duringanevangelisticseries. Soonever^'thing says Daniela. "That's agreat wasbeingsetforScott tostay,exceptfor one thing. He needed moremalariapills. thing." Steve Atthesuggestionofafriend, Scottde- Bontekoe, '08, cided tocountout theremainingsmallpink outdoor pills.Thinkingthere wouldonlybe around education 12 left, Scottwasastonishedtodiscover — graduate, 22 asupply thatwould lasthim the restof agrees. the tripplussevendays. "Melodie has I He saw this asconfirmation thathe was been im- rightwhereGod wantedhim. mensely help- "It'sreallyamazingbecauseyouhear ful in mygrad aboutthese thingshappeningtootherpeo- studies," he ple,"ScottsaysofGod'sprovidence, "and Heendedupgivingmeextramalariapills. says. "Personal interaction Godmusthave beenplanningthis miraclea and Christ- longtimebeforewegotthere." focused discus- During theextratime inKenya, Scott sion with wasable towitnessthebaptismsof145 Melodie really people.Scottalsodecidedhowheplanned give me afeel tousehiseducationdegree. "Iknownowwhat 1 want todo,"hesays. forwhat is important here "1wanttogobacktoKenyaandteach. 1know Godtookme thereforareason—toshow at Southern people and mewhat I want todofortherestofmy life." God." ~SuzanneOcsai Columns • ULjL JjJ -. r J Snorkeling in waters with the highest number of marine species in the world. Standing face to face with monkeys in their jungle home. Walking on a black sand beach at the foot of a volcano. On alternating years, Indonesia becomes a class- Here's a peek at images from the experience and room for Tropical Biology. This summer, 16 students journaled thoughts from three ofthe students: junior spent nearly three weeks in a learning experience biology major Chelsea Foster, junior biology major that this class could never duplicate inside a building. AJ Pastor, and senior biology major Ben Smith. Trcpii;i! Biologyparticipants—front;r.\ -_...:._. ;.^.. :_, _;.. _, . . . jaPnndle, FloiOsorio,ChelseaFoster,MeganSouza,back:HeidiToppenberg, SamWillis, BenSmith, BradSchleenbaker, Brendon Brockmann,BiologyProfessorAnnFoster,NoelleSnyder,BiologyCliairKeithSnyder, DashaKulakov, KevinCrawford,JoshKim(notpictured:AssistantProfessorTonyTrimmandLinnaZetko) Fall 2008 9 ii I particularlyenjoyedohser\'ingthepeople * Todaywe toured around the marketareas. ii Wechoseaparticular3 meterby3 meter ofManado. The majorityot thepeople we saw While riding the busandcheckingout theway plotandcountedeach tree, fern, herb, vine, wereextremely poor. Even though, thepeople oflife, 1 felt like 1 wasback in the Philippines. shrub, epiphyte, moss, andgrass in thearea. By i sawseemed tohave ajoyoflifeand living. Theh—eat, thehouses, theconstantbeepingof thisrawdatacollection,we madecertainde- People wereveryfriendly andunashamedly horns itwasverysimilartothatofthe Philip- ductionsonhowourdatacouldbe interpreted. curious. Insteadotshyingawayfromourcamera pines. Somethingabout itmademefeelat Wecametotheconclusionthatbecauseof flashes, people wouldstandandpose. Shoutsof home.Timeseemed togoslower. *' theextremecanopycoverofthejungle atthis helloandenthusiastic wavesseemed tofollow elevation, theundergrowthwas limitedtoflora usw'hereverwewent. ** thatcouldsurvive the reducedsunlight, which highlyfavoredmoss.This insighthelped usto bettercomptehend thecomple"xityandorderof how theenvironmentworks. ^ JoshKim(front)andclassmatesheadforasnorkeiingexcursion. Columns • ArticlephotoscontributedbyTonyTrimm, BiologyDepartment, andAJPastor,juniorbiologymajor **Today, we walkedonablacksand beach. Asyoumightexpectfrom the name, thesandwasblack, absorbingall theheatfrom thesun. 1 had to keep hopping aroundso 1 wouldn'tget /* burned. ii Tliiswasthejunglethatwehadallread aboutbefore, thejunglewhereyouhad to rA^ tuckyourpants intoyoursocksbecauseof chiggers, thejunglewhere wild bandsof ti Wesawmonkeys, tarsiers,flying monkeys wanderedaround and the trees lizards, winglessgrasshoppers, thousands greu-untamed. Apparently, wewere not ofspiders, and much more. *' supposedtosmileat themonkeysbecause showingteethisasignofaggression,which " seemedstrangeandwasdifficult todo. O) Captivating colorsinbothskyandseaare (O)BenSmithandBradSchleenbakerstand partofthe BunakenIslandexperience. insideatreeoverrunbythelianesvinethat G) resultsinahollowedtrunkclimbablefromthe Aboattakesstudentsfromthediveresortof insidebysteppingalongthevines. Bunakentoanunderwateradventure. ® 6) Aldo Espinozabefriendsacrestedblack Q)Inamomentofreflection, SamWillisgazes macaque. acrosstheoceannearBali'sUluwatuTemple.