The Falcon | Volume 81, Issue 26 |
Published 6/02/10 | Log In |
SPU students join more than 5,500 other protesters on the steps of the Legislative Building in Olympia Feb. 15.
Photo credit: Falcon Archives.
By BETH DOUGLASS, News Editor, AMBER JIMENEZ, Features Writer, KATIE JOY BLANKSMA, Editor-in-Chief, DUSTY HENRY, Features Editor, MELISSA STEFFAN, Assistant News Editor
Published: June 2, 2010
Karina Robertson's life influences SPU
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| Former SPU student freshman Karina Robertson hugs freshman Karl Nielsen in the Robertson family's boat. Photo credit: Falcon Archives. |
Former SPU freshman Karina Robertson, 19, died on April 26 at Tacoma General Hospital as the result of pneumonia after complications due to treatment for leukemia. Though this was the third time since she was 14 that she had battled cancer, Robertson never let cancer define her life, said her boyfriend, freshman Karl Nielsen.
"She is just my high school sweetheart, she is the dream that I wanted to have, she was just this perfect woman of faith who changed my life," Nielsen said.
Hundreds of people filled Chapel Hill Presbyterian Church in Gig Harbor, Wash., on May 8 for a celebration of former SPU freshman Karina Robertson's life and faith.
In the back of the room, Seattle Pacific students -- including over 20 of her Second East Emerson floor mates -- filled four rows.
"When I walked out and saw everybody, I was shocked and I was happy that there were so many people there to celebrate her life," Nielsen said.
Professor remembered for her love of teaching
Associate Professor of Economics Lisa Surdyk died on Dec. 6, 2009, leaving behind husband Tim Surdyk and four children ranging in ages from five to 14. Lisa Surdyk was diagnosed with cancer in the summer of 2006 and, although her condition worsened, she continued teaching during Fall Quarter for her 19th year at SPU.
Lisa Surdyk informed her classes about her condition at the beginning of the year, telling them that a substitute would be observing the class in preparation for if she had to leave. Lisa Surdyk never mentioned cancer again in class, said junior Caroline Seeley. "She never said how bad it was," Seeley said. "It was a big shock for me."
"The fact that she stayed shows her passion for the job," Seeley said. "It shows how much she loved teaching."
At Lisa Surdyk's memorial service at First Free Methodist Church on Jan. 9, Tim Surdyk noted that whenever someone asked his wife what her job was, she did not say "professor" or list her published works or other accomplishments. Instead, she would say, "I am a teacher."
Alumni killed in Tacoma Shootings
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| A photograph of Jennifer Paulson during her graduation from Seattle Pacific was part of a slideshow which ran before her memorial service on March 3. Photo credit: Falcon Archives. |
On Feb. 26, Jed Waits, a 2003 alumnus, shot and killed 2003 alumna Jennifer Paulson in the parking lot of the Tacoma elementary school where she worked.
Though Waits fled the scene, he was found by a Pierce County sheriff's deputy 20 minutes later. He shot at the deputy, who then returned fire and killed Waits.
Waits had been jailed the previous weekend for violating Paulson's anti-harassment order against him. The two had worked together in Gwinn Commons while students at SPU, and his sporadic attempts to contact her in the years after graduation had recently become more frequent.
Professors and former students interviewed said they remembered very little about Waits from his time at SPU. As a transfer student and cartoonist for The Falcon, Waits wrote a December 2003 opinions article before his early graduation, saying he felt alienated by SPU's "facade of friendliness" and "phony, superficial Christianity."
At Paulson's memorial service in Tacoma on March 3, friends and family remembered the special education teacher as kind, joyful and dedicated to her faith.
Former classmates remembered her working in Gwinn Commons and always having a joyful and friendly attitude toward everyone. Ryan Provonsha, a 2005 alumnus and Paulson's former Gwinn coworker, agreed.
"She was a magnet for people's admiration," he said.
Event helps fight abuse
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| The V-Day cast and crew perform "Connect: A Web of Words" at the performance of "V-Day: A Memory, a Monologue, a Rant, & a Prayer." Photo credit: Falcon Archives. |
"A Memory, a Monologue, a Rant & a Prayer," debuted at Seattle Pacific to commemorate V-Day, an international movement geared toward ending violence against women and girls, on April 16 and 17 to a nearly full house in Upper Gwinn Commons.
V-Day was also honored as Event of the Year, an award chosen by student leaders and announced at the ASSP Leadership Celebration on May 20.
The production, which featured 10 selected monologues performed by both male and female students, was sponsored by Sophia, the Women's Studies Department and an assortment of students and alumni.
Many college campuses and organizations in Seattle have established traditions specifically advocating women's rights, said senior Rachel Willey, a Sophia club co-president and member of the V-Day planning team.
SPU had largely been left out of the action until this year, Willey said.
"There's a wide variety of violence in real life and there are numerous outcomes in response to violence," Willey said. "We tried to portray this in our selection of the monologues."
"For those who have not had a personal encounter with violence, the performance opens eyes to the truth of suffering women around the world go through every single day," said senior and Sophia co-president Jenny Gist.
University Center underway
Plans are underway to build a new University Center, which will serve as a new home for SPU's music, theatre and art programs.
Crawford Music Building will be replaced by a giant concert hall, which Professor of Music Eric Hanson said will have state of the art acoustics. The main University Center building will run along Dravus Street toward Beegle Hall and is expected to be four or five stories tall. It will contain classrooms, performance spaces and a faculty development center.
This new University Center will show that Seattle Pacific is serious about the arts and values them on campus, said Don Yanik, professor of theatre.
The project is expensive, however. Figures presented to faculty and staff at the end of last school year estimate the total cost to be about $60 million. In comparison, the Science Building, completed in 2003, cost about $26 million.
Professors interviewed about the new University Center expressed concern with giving details that were too specific about the building's structure, cost and year of completion.
Professor of Art Roger Feldman said that, even once fundraising is completed, constructing the buildings will still take another few years.
"Everything hinges on funding. We can't start until a certain amount has been raised," he said.
Students' aid crisis averted
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| SPU students join more than 5,500 other protesters on the steps of the Legislative Building in Olympia Feb. 15. Photo credit: Falcon Archives. |
After sophomore Cyan Quinn learned that Gov. Christine Gregoire's proposed Washington state budget for 2011 would cut the State Work Study program, causing her and about 160 other Seattle Pacific students to lose their work study jobs, she and junior Zachariah Bryan started a Facebook.com group called "Student Worker Solidarity" to advocate against the cuts.
On Jan. 18, Quinn, Bryan and eight other SPU students marched in Seattle's Martin Luther King Jr. Day parade. They carried handheld signs and a large blue "Save State Work Study" banner.
On Feb. 15, they and 10 other Seattle Pacific students attended a 5,500-person rally at the legislative building in Olympia, hoping to catch legislators' attention about the work study cause. After participating in the rally, they delivered Valentine's Day cards to the offices of three local legislators.
On Feb. 18 and 25, Quinn and Bryan went down to the state capital again to lobby eight local legislators and legislative aides.
"We have every right to stand up for our jobs," Quinn said. "We have every right to write them to speak out for what we believe."
When the state budget passed on April 13, the State Work Study program was cut by 30 percent, instead of being eliminated entirely as originally proposed. Other government-funded student loans and scholarship programs were also scaled back.
Laptop thieves strike campus
In October and November, three Mac laptops were stolen from Hill Hall. In March and April, six more laptops were stolen from Ashton, Emerson and Hill Halls. Other items, including iPods and bicycles, have also been stolen from the residence halls this year.
On April 22, junior Evan Dull, Fourth West Ashton peer advisor, confronted a young man in his 20s who was stealing two Ashton laptops. The man fled, but Dull saw him on campus again on May 10 and called Safety and Security.
The man was arrested and Seattle police recovered the two laptops, which belong to First West Ashton sophomores Rachel Zdenek and Hannah Borcherdt.
"I was not even expecting to get it back, so that was a really great surprise," Zdenek said. "I thought it would have been sold immediately."
A laptop stolen from freshman Jacob Schmitt's Fourth West Ashton room on April 20 has not been recovered, but Fourth West resident Daniel Adams witnessed a man suspected of taking the laptop and positively identified him to police.
Associate Director of Safety and Security Vic Peirsol said this man, also in his 20s, is believed to be responsible for other thefts in the Seattle area. Police are working on issuing a warrant for this man's arrest.
Seattle folk artist plays at SPU
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| Rosie Thomas captivates the audience in song as her husband, Jeff Shoop, backs her up on guitar and harmony. Photo credit: Falcon Archives. |
Before coming here for school, junior Max Sutherland associated Seattle with a certain iconic artist: Rosie Thomas.
Four years ago for his sister's birthday, he played her a song by Thomas, "Death Came and Got Me," making Ashley Sutherland, now a 2007 alumna, cry.
Fast forward to April 23, when Ashley Sutherland listened to another of Thomas's songs dedicated to her, but this time sung by Thomas herself in front of an audience of over 250 Seattle Pacific students and community members in Upper Gwinn Commons.
Thomas, a local folk artist, headlined KSPU, Lingua and STUB's second-annual concert, bringing not only her musicality, but also her comedic entertainment, soliciting giggles and guffaws from her audience.
The purpose of this concert was to present a Seattle musician, who is not necessarily mainstream, to the SPU student body, to showcase those artists here, said senior Scott Kennedy, STUB executive director.
"We really wanted to make sure the music was something everyone would feel comfortable going to," Kennedy said.
Thomas is a recognized musician in many circles, but seemed to come as a well received surprise to many of the SPU attendees. By the end of the concert, several students were sold as newfound Thomas fans.
"She invites you into her imagination," freshman Hailey Moore said.
Several of her songs that night began with Thomas's classic giggle and ended with her cheery "thanks a lot."
"This will blow your mind," Thomas said in between giggles before beginning to play "All My Life." "At least I hope it does."
Attendees embraced Thomas's performance with enthusiasm, catching her contagious chortles and roaring with each new story.
Students, alumni help Haiti
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| Casey Fraizer leads Old Cuban and the Line Up at a Haiti benefit concert. The event raised over $500 for Partners in Health. Photo credit: Falcon Archives. |
On Jan. 12, a 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck the island of Haiti, generating humanitarian aid and action around the world. At SPU, faculty, staff and students were actively involved in contributing to these efforts through donations, prayer and by spreading awareness of the disaster.
Professor of Sociology Kevin Neuhouser said his Latin America class of 34 students took up a collection for World Vision and raised $160 in a class session.
"It's what God wants us to do," Neuhouser said. "God asks us love our neighbors and our neighbors are in need."
Sophomore Jennifer Bluhm said her University Core 2000 class had a pop quiz that Friday about Haitian geography, history and state of current affairs. Each question answered correctly was equivalent to $1 that Professor of History Don Holsinger would donate to Haiti relief funds, Bluhm said. The class raised $268 from that quiz alone.
On Jan. 22, seniors Natalie Alfaro and Melody Firman hosted a house concert to benefit Haiti. Over 100 students packed into the living room of their house, donating $3 to hear juniors Andrew Zook and Taylor Neal and Seattle-based band Old Cuban and the Line Up. Students at the concert raised over $500 for Partners in Health, a long-standing organization providing medical relief in Haiti.
Over 3,500 miles away, alumnus Luke Davies worked as a hospital co-administrator at The Good Samaritan Hospital in Jimani, Dominican Republic. He helped aid over 800 Haitian earthquake victims.
"They need help now," Davies said to students when he spoke on campus in April. "They are going to need help in six months. They are going to need help in 10 years and beyond."
Local bands compete at EMP
SPU bands Sea Fever and Us on Roofs competed in the Experience Music Project's Sound Off! competition in February.
Sound Off! has produced some big names in the Seattle scene, including The Lonely Forest, Natalie Portman's Shaved Head and Schoolyard Heroes. The competition allows Northwest acts ages 21 and under a chance to make their name in the local music scene. While neither SPU band advanced to the finals, each group saw its own successes.
Sea Fever earned second place in the semi-final round as well as the Audience Response Prize, garnering the most applause at the end of the show. Most recently, the group opened for local band Hey Marseilles at the Vera Project.
Us on Roofs, fronted by freshman Brian Fisher, may not have won a prize in its semi-final round, but has been touring strong since. The band opened for Mt. St. Helen's Vietnam Band as well as for 2010 Sound Off! winner Great Waves. On May 24, Fisher and gang also released their first album, "Robes of Feathers," at a show with Brier Rose at Chop Suey.
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