Coffeehouse Features Local Music

ZACH PIETRINI & THE BROKEN BONES - Hollis Lewis

The local music scene surfaced by way of Coffeehouse this past weekend.

Trinity International University’s (TIU) Johnson Hall Lounge (JHL) was filled with a predominantly college student audience to see Zach Pietrini and the Broken Bones Friday.

“Wow! I didn’t know people actually came to these things,” said one student.

“This is a fire hazard,” teased another.

The sound management was lacking as vocalist Hollis Lewis and violinist Mary Flowe could not be heard beyond the first table and drummer Nicholas Greener and guitarist Josh Connell both dominated the waves.

“I'm not exactly sure what happened with the sound,” said Lewis.

After the opener, Connell and bassist Michael Mehlan swapped for an awkward performance.

“Why is the guy looking at himself in the mirror?” asked a spectator. JHL unfortunately had floor to ceiling decorative mirrors. Watching Mehlan’s sensual reflection was as uncomfortable for the audience as the peeping of his butt crack when he dropped to his knees in an emotional guitar solo.

The full band returned and was redeemed with a powerful moment that couldn’t be rehearsed – the veins in Pietrini’s neck testified to the effort of his voice as he attempted to sing over the noise, and his failure to project was dismissed by a first row choir who sang out every lyric for him with pride.

“We had an hour worth of music prepared,” said Lewis.

But after the band blew two amps and performed three-ish songs, including the awkward duet, they exited the stage and the lounge numbers were cut in half.

Zach Pietrini and the Broken Bones played Saturday at Taylor University in Indiana, where Lewis signed her first CD for a fan. They also had a show at Wheaton College at the beginning of the month, which went a little smoother.

“The Wheaton concert was the most fun I've had performing yet,” said Lewis. “We had a group of around 50 Trinity people come out to show their support and sing along. Wheaton's old chapel was packed out and you could feel the energy on stage”

Information about their albums “Mending the Broken” and “The Broken Season Turning” are available at the band’s MySpace website where a band biography, pictures and songs are posted.

Fans will have to follow the band live to hear the new tunes not yet recorded. They play at South Union Arts Gallery in Chicago Mar. 14.

The performance that won best entertainment for Friday night was trio Ben Krogh, Tim Ophus and Ryan Ebling who replaced one of the amps. One mic was used for Ebling’s banjo, and the other mic was shared by Ophus and Krogh for an unusual effect. Each switched off for lead vocals.

“That was on purpose,” said Ophus mid-lyrics when feedback roared through the speaker. He didn’t miss a beat.

Listeners socialized over drinks and treats at tables clothed in black poster paper and equipped with drawing chalk, compliments of JHL Residence Life Staff and the Acting on Aids Team. Tshirts were being sold to promote prayer and raise money for Spring Break and May term mission trips.

Superbowl Simas

GIANTS RECEIVER AMANI TOOMER CELEBRATES SUPERBOWL XXLII WIN - nfl.com

It was that annual Sunday when grocery stores sold out of guacamole and tortilla chips and advertising companies spent billions for seconds of airtime.

When Trinity International University (TIU) students gathered around televisions on campus, at local houses, and church buildings, senior athletic trainer and women’s soccer player Loryssa Simas sat four rows up from the New England Patriots’ end zone in Phoenix, Ariz.
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Manning threw a 13-yard touch-down pass to Burress with just 35 seconds remaining.
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“I lost ten years of my life watching the last two and a half minutes,” said Simas. It was about the time when the New York Giants began their miraculous 83-yard march down the field.

Eli Manning threw a 13-yard lob pass to Plaxico Burress for the winning touchdown with just 35 seconds remaining. Giants won Super Bowl XLII and beat the undefeated, two-touchdown favorite Patriots 14-10.

“It was terrible,” said Simas.

The New England resident has been a life-long Patriots fan, a product of her parents Dave and Lorry Simas, who live in Rhode Island.

Sunday was Simas’s third Super Bowl experience. She watched live the Indiana Colts beat the Chicago Bears last year in Miami and the Patriots win their third championship over the Philadelphia Eagles in Jacksonville, Florida in 2005.

In the late 90s things were looking up for the Patriots, and so was business for Mr. Simas, who bought season tickets to Gillete stadium. He upgraded from club seats to box seats a handful of years ago.

The Simases attended the Athletes in Action (AIA) Super Bowl breakfast, an official sanctioned event and award ceremony to honor an National Football League (NFL) player who “exemplifies outstanding character and leadership in the home, on the field and in the community,” said an AIA spokesperson.

San Diego Chargers LaDainian Tomlinson won the 2008 Bart Starr Award. Simas met Super Bowl XLI Championship Coach of the Indiana Colts Tony Dungee and retired NFL player Bart Starr at the breakfast.

“Even though the Pats lost, it was an NFL record-breaking year, and it’s always a blessing to spend time with family,” said Simas.

Northshore Nannies Share the Big Screen Story

THE NANNY DIARIES - The Weinstein Company

The north shore Chicago is known for its affluence and high-paid nanny jobs. Subparents are in high demand in these parts, and at Trinity International University (TIU) there are plenty in supply.

Both female and male TIU students find job postings for babysitting and subparenting on MyTrinity online. Just Monday over two-dozen want ads were posted at a minimum of $10 an hour.

“We are a happy, fun-loving family with three adorable boys,” wrote a mom from Deerfield. “Looking for someone to play with and help with homework from 4:00 – 7:00.” The pay rate is $10 -$12 and the mom is usually home but she “needs an extra set of hands.”

References and a car are commonly requested, but not always required.

Local suburb parents have paid up to $14 cash an hour while students pocket tax-free income. Money is never a problem, but the hours add up, the favors increase in inconvenience and the pressure to be available always becomes overwhelmingly stressful.

Two anonymous TIU Seniors, Nanny A and Nanny B, are seasoned childcare professionals of the area. They worked nearly 30 hours a week during the summer and have cut that number in half while taking classes spring semester.

Both are familiar with working while the parents are around, and Nanny A has experienced babysitting children with an incompetent father.

“He can’t take care of his own kids, he can’t even put them to bed,” said Nanny A. “The mom cooks some times, but we usually order food for take-out. I clean up more than she does, they have a cleaning lady, and she bribes her kids. They seriously can’t take care of their kids on their own.”

Nanny A was called out of class 11 a.m. Tuesday to drive to the children’s house, grab wipes and diapers, a change of clothes, and water bottles for everybody, get to Portillos at 11:30 a.m. and save 16 seats. She is paid $12 an hour.

Nanny B usually shows up cook breakfast for the kids while the mom works from home. She has learned that “you can do anything with money.”

“Last summer the mom accidentally messed up the t-shirt designs for her daughter’s birthday and paid-off the Marriot front desk guy to reprint the corrections at Kinkos within the hour,” said Nanny B. That mom got those prints in time.

During the summer, Nanny B spent a lot of time at a clubhouse pool with her kid, and was scorned for repeating swimwear.

“I wore little sundresses and my cute sunglasses – I can't look bad in front of these crazy women who are never seen in anything but the latest fashion in tennis wear,” said Nanny B. She gets paid up to $18 an hour.

The TIU nannies have enough anecdotes to fill a book, but they are all about six years too late.

In 2002, two New York University graduates teamed up and published a novel about their combined eight years of upper eastside Manhattan babysitting that paid for college tuition and loans. Newsweek announced the novel as a “phenomenon.”

Authors Nicola Kraus and Emma McLaughlin’s New York Time’s bestseller “The Nanny Diaries” played out on the big screen last year starring Scarlet Johansson as Nanny.

The movie and book are fiction versions of Nanny’s experience at an upper class home with the X family: an absent, unfaithful and workaholic father, and a grossly self-seeking mother who does not cook, clean or care for her son, a neglected four-year-old boy.

Athletes Use Fruit & Vegetable Supplements

A dietary supplement wholesaler urged the Trinity International University (TIU) women’s soccer team to eat more fruits and vegetables during a lecture Saturday.

Health professionals and clinical research support the many healthful benefits of Juice Plus (JP), according to a company representative Lynne Page, who gathered the female athletes in the Meyer Sports Complex conference room.

The usual morning soccer fitness testing and indoor practice was lengthened by a yoga session in the foyer with instructor and national ranking triathlete Joann Della Torre, who swears by the dietary supplement. A complimentary fruit buffet was provided at the sales pitch that turned six female athletes into Juice Plus customers – a four-month $39.75 per month commitment.

Juice Plus claims to be the next best thing to fruits and vegetables and does not label it's product as a vitamin supplement. We are a whole food based product providing nutrients found in seventeen fruits, vegetables, and grains, said Page.

In 1992, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) released the food pyramid that recommended 3-5 servings of vegetables and 2-4 servings of fruit. In 2005, the USDA released the new “MyPyramid,” which was only a visual redesign of the former— the only difference was the added recommended amount of physical activity.

Juice Plus pushes for 7-13 servings of fruits and vegetables every day, and attempts to link American eating habits to the national rise of cardiovascular disease, cancer and infertility.

Page presented a two-year old MacDonald’s Happy Meal and the only thing to show for its age was the wrinkled and ripped bag. The hamburger bun was absent of mold and the patty had not been decomposed – bacteria won’t eat the fast foods Americans shove their faces with.

Fruits and vegetables, though, are dubbed today’s new fast foods – they are small, easy to pack, and perfect for snacking on between meals.

“Fruits conveniently come in their own natural wrapper,” said Page. The women’s soccer team was delighted to learn that the kiwi fruit skin was edible and healthy, although the texture wasn’t appetizing.

Studies show that people should get their nutrients by eating actual food products and not supplements. Page recognized that incorporating more servings of fruits and vegetables into a diet can be difficult and expensive, especially to TIU students who rely on the food vendor Sedexho as their main food source. Although it is not a substitute for the real thing, Juice Plus serves as a “convenient, affordable, and natural” supplement for the extra needed servings.

TIU men’s basketball Head Coach Marc Davidson has his familyon Juice Plus. His five kids, all under the age of 12, participate in a children’s research program that allows them to take the supplements for free. Davidson and his wife take the capsules while the kids take the gummies and chewables.

“My taste buds have changed and crappy food doesn’t satisfy me,” said TIU Physical Therapy major Laura Della Torre, who has been on JP for three years and became a JP representative three months ago.

Since taking the supplement, Della Torre desires foods rich in nutrition and has experienced an increased energy level. She suffered chronically from Mononucleosis all throughout high school and into her freshman year at TIU, but since taking JP she has been Mono-free.

“Juice Plus in only ten bucks a week,” said Della Torre, “And that’s manageable when you think about all the crap-food you buy in a week.”

Alumni Win Dodgeball Tournament

A group of Trinity International University (TIU) alumni by the team name “Balstin” split $300 Sunday after winning the annual Dodgeball Tournament, hosted by Student Government Association (SGA).

“I don’t care about the money – I just want to win,” said competitor Heidi Ebersole of “Getting’ After It.” Ebersole’s team had the manpower to go all the way, but took third after eliminated by “Balstin” in two different overtimes of single-player face-offs.

The SGA event drew 23 teams, with names like “Slippery Gerbils,” “Ball in the Face,” and “Not Creative Enough.” Over 150 spectators, largely made up of teams waiting to take the court or already eliminated, dwindled over the course of the three hours it took for the tournament to expire.

The tournament was played round robin and single-elimination style. A match was won by best of three games. Trinity Intramurals appropriately documented rules for the game, but competitors voiced their frequent disagreements with calls made by referees.

“Bogus! Bogus! Bogus!” shouted a player in disgust to his cheating opposition. Several players took advantage of missed calls and remained inside the volleyball-sized court despite knowing they had legitimately been knocked out. The biggest discrepancy, mostly a misunderstanding, concerned the definition of a “live” ball.

According to the official TIU Dodgeball Tournament Handbook, a live ball is a ball that has been thrown and has not touched anything, including the floor/ground, another ball, another player, official or other item outside of the playing field. It was often difficult to see if a ball had skimmed anther ball before hitting a target.

The key for success was speed and accuracy of throw and agility of body. The ideal dodgeball athlete would have the arm of a baseball player, the accuracy of a pitcher, and the agility of a football player.

Football senior Cole Goodenow showcased his skill as he impressively dropped and rolled to duck a live ball, and soccer junior Natalie Zierten displayed alertness as she jumped in what looked like a mid-air quasi-double toe-touch to escape a live ball, and ultimately both their eliminations. Zierten’s team, Dodge This, lost in the final and took second place, a repeat from last year’s tournament.

Teams played with a minimum of two girls, who weren’t too detrimental to the team if they were bad – nor too beneficial to the team if they were good. Few females had much of an arm, so the strategy became catching her ball instead of throwing her out. To win a match, a team relied on at least one male sniper.

For “Balstin” that sniper was an anonymous alumnus. Soccer senior Megan Pelland was the solo girl for the champion alumni, who played one man down. Pelland earned $50 for her performance and plans to save it for her wedding this summer.

The next college activity on the calendar requires a little less brawn and a little more grace. College Union has organized transportation for Ice Skating at Millenium Park tomorrow Saturday. There is no cash prize for top skater.

Held Maintains His Wit

JOSHUA HELD GIVES AN ORAL DEFENSE THAT SEALS HIS VICTORY

Returning Battle of the Wits champion Joshua Held reclaimed his title and $100 at the second annual Trinity academic triathlon Tuesday.

Mathematics Professor and television’s Millionaire contestant Paul Bialek emceed the event, sponsored by Student Government Association (SGA) and organized by Academic Life Director Laura Gisler.

Thirty student contestants took the Lew Student Center stage for the first round spell-off. The official word list was compiled from the 2006 Scripps National Spelling Bee.
“Venom” was the first word, and first eliminated was Eddie Pascual, defeated by a calorie-free vegetable.

“C-E-L-L-E-R-Y,” spelled Pascual, who volunteered for the event to earn extra credit points in Bialek’s calculus class.

Pascual joined the hundred or so spectators who feasted on a free assortment of Buffalo Wild’s take-out wings, potato wedges, salad, brownies and beverages. Those who attended were also offered free raffle tickets for the chance to win four $5 Starbucks giftcards upon answering correctly random Trinity trivia.

Moral standards were also tested as a contestant conceded that he accidentally misspelled “paradigm” with an “n” instead of an “m.” The judges’ panel was uncertain of the misspelling because of the contestants’ speedy correction.

Sitting in on the panel were Academic Dean Steve Pointer, Senior Vice President for Student Affairs Coffee Washington, Professor of English William Graddy, and Professor of Biblical Studies Samir Massouh.

Trinity Hall Resident Assistant Laura Costerisan was flawless and impressive in the Spelling Bee round, securing one of the six positions for the second round: Team Trivia.

When a contestant successfully spelled a word, Bialek would shake his head as he proclaimed, “That is correct!” – a ruse he may have learned from Millionaire and The View host Meredith Vieira. When a contestant misspelled a word, Bialek would console them with phrases like, “That was a tough one,” and “I’m sorry, the correct spelling is…”

Held credited his sophomore biology course after dominating cnidocyte – a word that sent Bialek into the Merriam-Webster Third International dictionary for accurate pronunciation. Despite misspelling cheroot, “C-H-E-R-O-U-T,” and a few other words during a spell-off against Christina Jensen, Held earned himself a spot on Team One for the second round competition.

The six finalists for Team Trivia were: Team One: Joel Sanford, Joshua Held, and Joshua Kalb and Team Two: Christina Jensen, David Rabe, and Laura Costerisan. This round played similar to Jeopardy and included categories reminiscent of academic courses offered at Trinity.

“What is Cold Family?” contributed Laura Costerisan when Team Two was to name the slide of a Pablo Picasso painting of the Blue Period. The correct question was “What is The Tragedy?”

“Samir Massouh wrote the Old Testament,” teased Bialek during a Bible questioned that was disputed. Massouh was frequently consulted for judgment on Bible topics.

The contestants, judges and hosts were not the only ones enjoying the game. Spectators entertained and impressed themselves as they played along from the audience, spelling the handful of words they recognized and the random trivia they happened to know the answers to.

Sanford, Held and Kalb won the Team Trivia round. The three finalists advanced to the third and final round: Oral Defense.

Kalb went first and struggled through an issue concerning retail and consumption tax, arguably the toughest topic of the night. The question was hard and he felt awful, he said, although his glowing demeanor told otherwise when he exited the Lew with his arm over the shoulder of brother Ben Kalb.

Sanford, second, addressed the global warming issue lightly and with casual confidence. His performance sufficed for second place and $50.

Finally, Held was to compare 2008 presidential candidates. He spoke smoothly and coherently using attractive hand gestures, volume, pitch and rate while delivering his carefully constructed answer – however careful one can construct an answer in a minute and a half with little time for preparation.

Next for SGA is Trinity’s coed Dodgeball Tournament scheduled Sunday Dec. 2 at 7 p.m. Teams of 6-10 players can sign-up in the Lew Student Center since Monday. First prize is $300.

Athletes Modify Popular Drinking Game

Water Pong was the social game of choice for over 30 Trinity International University (TIU) athletes Friday. Represented at the off-campus Buffalo Grove residence were soccer, basketball, baseball and football athletes.

Water Pong and Beer Pong are one and the same, with the obvious exception: alcohol. Closet doors and kitchen tables have been substituted for the playing surface, and plastic party cups filled with a couple ounces of a liquid are set up like billiard balls at both ends.

Teams stand at each end table and exchange attempts at tossing a Ping Pong ball into the opponents’ cups. Both teams are responsible for consuming the contents of any cup made on their side. A winner is determined when a shot has been made in each cup, then losing team is responsible for drinking all cups remaining.

“I’m not sure that adapted drinking games are a great thing to promote,” said Athletic Director and Women’s Soccer Coach Patrick Gilliam.

Drinking games of this sort are commonly played at colleges nationwide because they double as a social activity and one that aids a faster consumption of alcohol. But simply mimicking the drinking game while meeting Trinity Expectations was not the goal for the event.

“We’re getting hydrated for tomorrow’s game,” said women’s soccer senior captain Loryssa Simas. Simas is also a student Athletic Trainer and studies under a department that takes serious the practice of hydration.

Before the start of the semester, all the athletic teams congregated in the Meyer Sports Complex to watch the Gatorade documentary on hydration, compliments of Athletic Training. During last week’s Boil Order, Certified Athletic Trainer Angie Ryan traveled to Lake Forest College to fill a total of 80 gallons of water for the athletes practicing that day in 90-degree weather.

Soccer athlete Serena Bjurlin shares the passion for necessary hydration and can be spotted around campus carrying a Nalgene water bottle. Bjurlin dominated Friday at Water Pong with partner and soccer player Steve O’Brien. Together they managed a seven-game winning streak during “winners- stay” play.

But rules of the game were a little shaky, because few actually knew how to play.

“I have the rules posted in my basement,” said soccer athlete Jesse Edson, “and I forgot to bring them.” Edson put up a handful of impressive wins with partner and soccer player Bobby McColl.

“We had matching uniforms,” said McColl, attributing the attention to attire as a winning strategy. It cannot be determined whether Bjurlin-O’Brien or Edson-McColl were the Water Pong champion, because the teams never played head to head.

Losing in Water Pong was really winning – as losers in Beer Pong get are the most drunk, losers in Water Pong are the most hydrated.

A hydration party is as rare as a party with a curfew. Nevertheless, everyone was kicked out of the house upon 11, because the women’s soccer team has a strictly enforced 11:30 “lights-out” policy the night before every game.

Premieres at a Dorm Television Near You

GREY'S ANATOMY - abc.com

Television’s most watched drama “Grey’s Anatomy” returns to Trinity Hall’s Chicago Wing second floor suite TV screen 8 p.m. Thursday as the fall premieres weeks are just ahead.

Last year the new Trinity residence hall venue, that comfortably accommodates about five people, attracted over a dozen female students for an hour on Thursday evenings.

Although most of the group are currently graduated or living off-campus, the remaining few will continue to gather around the plasma screen for “Grey’s” fourth season, said second-floor resident Erica Koster.

A sneak peek of the premier episode is available at abc.go.com. It is reminiscent of the Pilot as new interns are broken-in, including Meredith’s (Ellen Pompeo) half sister Lexie Grey (Chyler Leigh) who introduces a pseudo-love triangle with Derek “McDreamy” Shepherd (Patrick Dempsey).

“Grey’s” was nominated for best drama series at the 2007 Emmy Awards Sunday and Katherine Heigl won best supporting actress for her performance as Isobel “Izzie” Stevens. Dr. Preston Burke (Isaiah Washington) is the only familiar who is not returning to the show.

All female students are welcome to the second floor suite for the Thursday night showings, said Resident Assistant Natalie Zierten. Fans with conflicts can miss scheduled broadcasts without getting lost or left behind, because episodes are posted online as soon as the next day, and complete seasons are sold on DVD.

Those who lived on the second floor easily adopted “Grey’s Anatomy” fan status because Koster’s roommate Vanessa Speer owned the first and second season on DVD.

“I watched seasons one and two in like a week,” said former second-floor resident Wendy Moore who borrowed Spear’s DVDs. She also finished “Lost” season one, about 18 hours, in one weekend with roommate Jesse Edson. “Lost” season four doesn’t return until January.

The third season of “Prison Break” debuted Monday on Fox, and will be watched faithfully in Buffalo Grove at a women’s soccer house, although not always at 7 p.m. Mondays.

“We record the show on our DVR and watch it whenever we have time,” said house resident Laura Della Torre. The digital video recorder (DVR) operates just like the popular television recorder TiVo.

“The Office” returns for its fourth season Thursday on NBC. Men’s basketball player Tyler Liston already purchased the third season DVD that only recently became available this month.

The comedy’s 8 p.m. airtime competes with “Grey’s Anatomy” for thirty minutes. While the Trinity females choose a gender-exclusive site to watch their favorite show, the males can gather around Michael Scott (Steve Carell) and hear his latest overused one-liner: “That’s what she said!”

Other popular dates among Trinity students include “House” Tuesdays, “CSI” Thursdays, and “CSI-Miami” Tuesdays.

Starting a new show can be a hefty commitment for college students. Taking the plunge comes addiction and self-control issues. Viewers dive into the plots of their favorite dramas, confusing reality and fantasy for an hour a night and sometimes, in Moore’s and Edson’s case, entire days in a week – classes and studies are usually the first to get shafted.

“I don’t study as it is,” said transfer Bobby McColl with a smirk, “and if I get addicted to a television show then I definitely won’t study.”

SGA Chapel Introduces New Student Leaders

The Trinity community was introduced to the new Student Government Association (SGA) for the first time Friday, as the student leaders hosted Chapel.

Campus Life Director Jessica Tober exposed her dramatic flair onstage with the performance of a monologue – acting is one of many talents of this diverse group of elected and appointed student leaders.

“We all bring something to the table,” said SGA President Daniel Oksnevad, as he attributed subtitles to his nine-member team, such as skateboarder, choir member, youth leader, honors student, baseball player, musician, techie, and the list goes on.

This unique group is a composite of Trinity’s campus, representing the mass unusually well. They meet nearly weekly, maybe once or several times – whatever it takes to discuss, plan and report thoroughly and completely.

Secretary Naomi Wenzel takes down minutes, Vice President Emily Duby seconds motions, and Treasurer Troy Anderson practices fiscal responsibility. If issues become tedious or procedures dull, Senior Vice President for Student Affairs Dr. William "Coffee" Washington never fails to bring the group to smiles.

As Oksnevad steers the progress of group discussion, Washington consistently addresses him as “Mr. President” for every inquiry or suggestion – possibly facetious, but his tone is absent of sarcasm and has the presence of deference. He addressed former SGA President Matt Hill in the same way.

“It’s what he does,” said Oksnevad with appreciation for his mentor and friend. This selfless and agreeable group is a reflection of Coffee’s leadership.

Eloquent core values and rehearsed mission statements aside, “SGA’s main purpose is to serve the student body,” said Oksnevad. And they do that by allocating funds to the different academic departments and hosting varieties of student activities that foster community.

The increasing student activities dominating the online Trinity all-purpose calendar, such as the expired Lew Coffeehouse, Scavenger Hunt, Cirque Shanghai, and Gino’s East, are all compliments of College Union Director Stephanie Erickson and new supervisor Adam Gustine.

Students are urged to stay tuned to plans regarding the Homecoming Dance, because the event is under tentative renovation, said Erickson.

Dynamic advertising for these events decorate academic halls and doors. The signs, posters, videos, and t-shirt designs are under the artistic scrutiny of Media Director Ben Krogh.

“I’m giving talented people a chance to be responsible,” said Krogh about his Media committee.

Upcoming events include The Battle of the Wits, organized by Academic Life Director Laura Gisler, and a revamped and highly anticipated Dodgeball tournament.

A Different Kind of Madness

Seven teams were ranked, a round-robin bracket was drawn and two handfuls of Trinity International University (TIU) business majors jumped into bumper-carts to compete in an aggressive Whirly Ball tournament that lasted until midnight Wednesday.

The free event was student picked, organized, marketed, and managed by the Trinity Council on Business (TCB), a club led by Business Professor Sidney Yeomans and elected officers. It is open to business majors, minors and undecided students, and convenes once a month in lower Melton on Wednesday nights.

This year TCB has alternated between serious and fun events; from an Executive Advisory Board (EAB) Panel Discussion and a bowling outing with the Business Professors in the Fall, to an Alumni Business Forum, where alumni were invited on campus to share about their business experience, and a Business Etiquette Dinner in the spring.

Because TIU is a small campus, building relationships is key and networking is helpful for business students to find a job after graduation, said TCB. Their mission is to provide a conducive environment for spiritual, academic, and personal growth in preparation for Christ-centered leadership in the business world.

“Our main purpose is to facilitate relationships between current business students, faculty and alumni,” said TCB Co-President and accounting major Tim Jeanson. WhirlyBall is an unconventional, yet entertaining and active way to cater to that vision.

“It was a good time of fellowship and competition,” said TIU business-accounting major Jason Kofroth. The activity was fitting for a business club event, since nearly half of all business majors, a male-dominated major, are involved in Trinity Athletics.

The Whirly Ball court was similar to the size of a basketball court, but it included elements from several different sports. Hoops were laid flat in the middle of the backboards that suspended from opposite walls. The absence of out-of-bounds was similar to ice-hockey, and the use of a miniature quasi-lacrosse stick was the means by which a softball-sized whiffle ball was scooped from the ground, passed between teammates and shot against the target.

Players don’t just ride on bumper cars aimlessly.

Each shot that ricocheted against the backboard earned one point, while a shot hitting the target earned two. In the championship game, Jeanson scored a point with only 10 seconds remaining to break the 2-2 tie and secure a tournament win for his team.

“It was a very sweet experience to get together with my fellow business majors and win,” said TIU business-human resources major Jonathan Ott. These kind of activities are important because it helps the students spend time with their business classmates and professors outside of the classroom, said TCB.

Just before TIU’s spring break, Jeanson and TCB Co-President Josh Antioho invited Professor Yeomans for dinner at their off-campus house. They students made side-dishes while Professor Yeomans brought nine steaks to grill.

“Having fun is a key part of keeping our Christian faith real and exciting,” said Professor Yeomans, who also competed in the Whirly Ball tournament.

“He is definitely one of the coolest professors,” said Jeanson, who has made the most of his involvement with TCB. On Jun. 29 Jeanson begins a four-year program in the financial department of the Boeing Company in Huntington Beach, Calif.

Spritual State of the Campus Apathetic, say Leaders

TRINITY INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY - tiu.edu

Last semester individuals started noticing it, before the break they voiced their concern about it and this semester they are acting upon it.

A few weeks ago, Trinity International University (TIU) Director of Chapel David Whited called a meeting with the TIU Residence Life team – all shared concerns for the spiritual state of the campus, said Assistant Resident Director (ARD) Hillary Leeper.

Christian apathy was the subject that dominated the conversation. Resident Directors and Assistants addressed the problem, asking each other if there is something they are doing – or not doing – to contribute to the apathy.

“It's been on our hearts since last semester,” said Leeper who joined with Resident Director Heather Harms and ARD Heather Armstrong to schedule a few get-togethers throughout the semester with their Resident Assistants to pray for the campus.

Prayer groups have been sprouting up all over. A group of students meet with Senior Vice President for Student Affairs William “Coffee” Washington to pray every-other Wednesday night from 8-11 p.m. in the Arnold T. Olson Chapel.

Over 30 students are involved in a group called Penuel that meet on rotation during Chapel Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays to pray for the service while it is in session.

Senior Daniel Frampton organized an email prayer chain that united the School of Language, Literature and Communications.

“I feel like everyone started noticing it at the same time,” said Junior Heather Hershberger, a Christian Ministries major. She was convicted about her own proneness to slowly becoming a fence-rider last semester.

Hershberger is currently taking “Strategies for Discipling Ministries” with Professor Sundene, who facilitated class discussions last week about apathy and complacency, complimented with a study on the neither hot or cold, but lukewarm Church of Laodicea.

Christian apathy is being countered on campus with awareness and prayer that will ideally lead to revival. “An important aspect of collective revival is a personal revival in each individual heart,” said Women’s Softball Coach Kelly Bergmann.

“Repentance. That is where revival begins, with a personal humility and brokenness before God, allowing Him to search the heart and shed light on areas that need to be dealt with,” said Bergmann. “When individuals begin to do this in their community, that is when collective revival happens…and this ‘revival’ spreads like wildfire in a powerful way.”

Over a third of TIU’s students are athletes. Athletic Director Patrick Gilliam, aware of the impact of the athletic community, challenged athletes to take an intentional role in praying for and promoting spiritual revival on our campus.

Gilliam, a current Trinity Evangelical Divinity School (TEDS) student, gathered information on how to promote a revival and presented it to his women’s soccer team during their weekly team bible study Tuesday. According to his studies, TIU’s spiritual state is compared to fallow ground; ground once farmed, but which now lays waste.

In “Lectures on Revival,” Charles G. Finney wrote, “If you truly intend to break up the fallow ground of your hearts, begin by looking at your own heart … prepare the mind into a state where it is fitted to receive the Word of God.”

It is written in Hosea, “Break up your fallow ground: for it is time to seek the Lord, till He comes and rain righteousness upon you.”